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A-BUE 



I(ev J.C.Jacoby.A./A. 





Glass JS-X^Q--. 
Book __L_xL2t_ 
Copyright N° 

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



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AROUND THE HOME TABLE 



Rtt J. C! .IACOBY. A.M., D. D. 

PASTOR OF THE TRINITY EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH. 
BOULDER. COLORADO 



mil IDELPHI 

tin: u rHERAN PI BU( \iion SOCIETY 



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Copyright, 191 i, 
By J. C. JACOBY. 






©CI. A 2 



86] [>2 



CONTENTS. 

WAGE 

i.'s Prbfac i: 5 

Prefa, SECOND EDITION - 

Introduction q 

CHAPTER I. 
LTION OP THR SCRXPTUKBS 13 

CHAPTER II. 

Tin-: iMM.iKTAi.irv OF tiik SOUI 43 

CHAPTER III. 
67 

CHAPTER iv. 

87 

v 11 IPTBR V. 

Tin CHXLD1 117 

CHAPTER vi. 

!■:. <>i< Tin. Lord's Sufpbr. i n 

CHAPTER VII. 



4 CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

The Relations of the Christian Home to the 
Church 



PAGi 



I 9 4 



CHAPTER IX. 
Is there Salvation outside of the Church ? . . . 209 

CHAPTER X. 
The Sabbath 224 

CHAPTER XL 
True Manhood, or a Chapter for Young Men .... 249 

CHAPTER XII. 
True Womanhood, or a Chapter for Young Women . 273 

CHAPTER XIII. 
Marriage 294 

CHAPTER XIV. 
The Future State of the Wicked 322 



CHAPTER XV. 



Heaven 



347 



AUTHOR'S PREFACE. 



Mich lias been said and written about the sub- 
of the following chapters. But the matter is 
cither in such voluminous form as not to be acces- 
sible to the ordinary home, or it is scattered so pro- 
miscuously about amid the great mass of literature 
— "here a little, and there a little" — that only 
hen.- and there bits of it reach the class of readers 
designed to be reached with this little volume. 

Though this is preeminently a literary age — an 
age in which it may truly be said, " of making 
xii. 12) many books there is no end," — yet 
Dot every home can be supposed to own a library. 
Many < an not afford it, others do Dot care for it. 
And yet it is commonly presumed that all Chris- 
tians ate, to a Certain extent, conversant with the 
fundamental doctrines and principles of their 

Christian profession. Whether we presume too 

much in this or not, is not for us to say. Suffice 

that Christian intelligence is 

illy admitted to be the preCUrSOl to .1 wlioh - 

(5) 



6 AUTHOR'S PREFACE. 

some spiritual growth. The need of the age, there- 
fore, is a simpler and more specific treatment of 
the vital points of Christian doctrine and living. 
Hence, it is the author's purpose to place within 
the reach of every home that which is so vital to 
their highest interests, and to present it in such 
simple and practical form as to be easily compre- 
hended by the most ordinary reader. And if in so 
doing he can contribute anything toward the ame- 
lioration of God's people in their homes, and to the 
efficiency of their service there; or perchance lead 
some from their sins to peace with God, he will be 
more than satisfied. 

Respectfully yours, 

J. C. Jacobv. 
September, 1892. 



PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION 



H of a preface than that of our first edition 
is entirely unnecessary except to say that this sec- 
ond edition is published in response to the numer- 
[nests for it. After a careful revision of the 
former text and a prefix of two chapters (The In- 
spiration of the Scriptures and The Immortality 
of the Son! 1 , both SO vital to the complete round 
tial to the larger range of Christian 
intelligence in the ordinary Christian home, we 
offer out readers our present edition in the ardent 
•.hat every reader may find it instructive, 
I inspiration t<> a nobler and more 
life. 

J. C. Jacoby. 
(7) 



INTRODUCTION. 



It was Bacon who said, "Reading makes the 

man." The contribution of our reading to the 
formation of character and to the use we make of 
it in our lives is undoubtedly greater than many 

Blippose. When every one's account is brought to 
the final settlement it will be discovered that the 
kind of reading we did counted in the scales for 
good or evil. Everybody is reading now. The 
t boy, the thoughtless girl, the criminal, 
young or older, alike will be found to be familiar 
with the soiled "paper cover," often full of excit- 
ing nr ad alas! how often of evil sugges- 
tion. How few realize what an insidious snare 
there is in much of the reading done to-day. 

| to thought oi passion. The 

in every instance must be put down to profit 

The reading in our homes Is really a vital 

thing. It> influence isoflen subtle. It does not 

sound a trumpet at it-- coming. Its touch is gentle, 

but when it is evil ita retribution often has the 

(9) 



IO INTRODUCTION. 

rage of a storm in it. Parents give attention to 
the education and the health of their children 
when they are often sadly indifferent about their 
reading. 

Quietly hundreds and thousands of the young 
to-day are becoming the victims of a kind of read- 
ing that is hostile to all that is noble and essential 
to right living. To say the least, it is often averse 
to anything that is serious and reverent. The 
appetite for that which is flippant, sometimes 
vulgar, in its suggestions, is having for many in 
this reading day, a keen edge put upon it. Like 
the drink habit, every day adds to the demand 
made for more, until in not a few cases, debauch 
and ruin follow. Any book that offsets or would 
in any way counteract this evil should be heartily 
welcomed in the homes of the people. The author 
of "Around The Home Table" has furnished 
such a book. It is not a theological treatise, but 
it is decidedly Christian and scriptural from the 
first to the last page. In doctrine it is strong and 
safe. Its mission is to impart instruction very 
much needed. What better could father or mother 
do than to read aloud a portion of it on each Lord's 
Day. A single page of it every morning, along 
with the open Bible, would furnish a wholesome 



INTRODUCTION. II 

lion and a safeguard tor all the responsi- 
bilities and happenings of the day. The style of 
the book is simple and pleasing. Its chapters are 
timely and adapted to all. The aged and the 
young alike will find a sufficient help in it under 
all conditions. It has in it a devotional element. 
Thoughtfully read it will edify the Christian, im- 
part wise counsel to the perplexed, quicken the 
: :nce of the erring, and enkindle an urgent 
in those who have grown weary in 
well-<i< 

there is in it that which will impart 
who in any measure have eonie to 
share the fellowship of Christ's sufferings. The 
writer of this introductory note could heartily wish 
that "Around The lb. me Table" might find a 
place in a multitude of homi o become a 

1UOUS and gracious beatitude to all who 
it. 

We bid the messages it brings Godspeed. 

M. R.HI 'DBS. 
-. tgia 



CHAPTER I. 

INSPIRATION OF THE 9CRIPTURES. 

•' All Scripture is given by inspiration of God." 
2 Tim. iii. 16. "Holy men of God spake as they 
were moved by the Holy Ghost." 2 Pet. i. 21. 

That the Bible is the world's most wonderful 
book is a well-nigh universal admission. No such 
book has ever been written in any age of the 
World's history as the Bible. And hence that it 
has been given by inspiration of God is questioned 
by persistent skeptics only. 

While scholars are oot wholly agreed as to the 
manner or method of the inspiration of the Bible 

the following definitions may aid our readers in 
forming simpler and clearer conceptions of God's 

plan of communicating His will toman: "By in- 
spiration of the Scripture we mean that special 
divine influence upon the minds of the Scripture 
writer-, iii virtue of which their productions, apart 

from transcriptions, and, when rightly 

reted, constitute an infallible and sufficient 
I 13) 



14 AROUND THK HOME TABLE. 

rule of faith and practice." (A. H. Strong, Sys. 
Theol. p. 95.) 

"The supernatural action of the Holy Spirit on 
the mind of the sacred writers whereby the Scrip- 
tures were not merely their own, but the Word of 
God." (A. R. Faussett, Bib. Cyclo. p. 308.) 

"Inspiration is that divine influence by virtue 
of which the truths and facts given by revelation, 
as well as other truths and facts pertaining to God's 
kingdom, are spoken or written in a truthful and 
authoritative manner." (H. B. Smith, Int. to 
Christ. Theol. p. 204.) 

" Inspiration is the divine communication of the 
permanent truths of the kingdom of redemption, 
in an organic way, to the writers of Scripture, 
which gives these writers their unique place in the 
offices of His kingdom." (G. T. Ladd, Doc. of 
Sac. Script, vol. II. 464.) Inspiration is the divine 
influence exerted on the writers of the Bible by 
which they were guided, enlightened and preserved 
from error (J. A. Brown, D. D., LL. D., Lect. On 
Theol. p. 210.) 

In whatever form these several authors have 
given expression to their thoughts, but one idea 
predominates; namely that "Holy men of God 
spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.' 1 '' 



INSPIRATION OP THE SCRIPTURES. 15 

these "Holy men of God" were thus moved 
WC are not told, nor does it matter. The great 
Gerhard h d, however, that these "Holy 

of God" were men whom God elected and 
called for the express purpose of committing to 
writing, through them, His revelations, and that 
were properly called " The Amanuenses of 
God." 

There are however several different theories as 
to the extent and method of the inspiration of the 
Scripture-, prominent among which are but two 
which tim ice will permit our mention: 

The first is that of " The Plenary Inspiration of the 
Scriptures" which means that the whole letter of 
the S inspired ; that its words were 

immediately dictated by the Holy Ghost, and are 

literally the words of God and not of men. Ac- 
cording to this theory, "the writers of the Bible 
ban the penmen of the I [< >lj 
control they vibrated as the 
the harp in the hands of the musician: 

ce of mechanism touched by 

1 hand." I h . mother has put it, 

the Bible, every word of it, every 

•. i- the dinet utl the Mosl 

>f inspiration which 



1 6 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

we mention here is that the writers of the Bible 
spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost— the 
Holy Ghost dictating only the thought but not the 
word. According to this theory the Holy Ghost so 
completely filled and controlled the minds of the 
writers with the thought to be expressed that they 
could not err — it was virtually and truly the mind 
of God expressed in words by human lips and 
penned by human hands. By this theory no diffi- 
culty is found in accounting for the idiosyncrasies 
of the respective writers. But without detaining 
our readers with a discussion of the relative merits 
of these two theories, one thing to our mind is evi- 
dent, namely, that God moved and directed these 
men to give to the world a correct revelation of 
His will, plans and purposes, so that men need not 
err if they would know and do His will. Hence 
we feel inclined to give attention to the more prac- 
tical side of this subject by giving some reasons for 
believing the truth of the Scriptures, " All Scrip- 
ture is given by inspiration of God." Why do we 
believe that the Bible is inspired? This is the im- 
portant question. The declarations at the head of 
this chapter are not mere assertions. They are 
stubborn facts. But now that our readers may feel 
sure that their faith in the Bible as an inspired 
Book is well grounded let us look at the Bible. 



INSPIRATION OK THE SCRIPTURES. IJ 

I. As an Inexhaustible Treasury of Truth. 
John Quincy Adams once said: "In whatever 
light we regard the Bible, whether with reference 
to revelation, to history, or to morality, it is an 
and inexhaustible mine of knowledge 
irtue." Another has said: " The scholarship 
of the ages has gone to the Bible for light and 
information on all subjects." Philosophers, as- 
:ier> and scientists alike have gone to this 
lc of Books" for the fundamental laws and 
principles underlying their respective lines of work. 
Tlie philosopher has found in it all the fundamental 
principles lor the best system of philosophy; the 
astronomer has found in it the great laws and prin- 
ciples of the solar system; and the scientists have 
to her mill-- of truth to satiate their desire 
for the true pri:. 11 science. Or as another 

laid: "Tin- great body of modern scientists 
the Bible their refuge. It is the mighty 
ship in which they have ploughed their way through 
aCC and >ailed over all its tossing 

ft is the great depository of all truth. The 
- tiled modern science, 

j nay, the who!. 
■all have fled to the Bible 
omrnon tn all truth, 1 ' And what is 

2 



l8 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

most wonderful about it all is that the strongest 
and keenest minds which have ever blest the 
world with their research have, with life-long 
efforts, endeavored to fathom the depths and 
bounds of the truth of the Bible, at last to stand in 
utter amazement at the as yet unexplored mines of 
truth. And having been . thus subjected to the 
most scrutinizing research, the Bible still remains 
the same inexhaustible treasury of truth, discover- 
ing to the world daily truths new and fresh — 
truths equally wonderful and inspiring as any ever 
before discovered. No human mind has ever yet 
looked to the bottom of this mine of truth. 

It is said that the learned Dr. Charles Elliott 
was a life-long and persistent Bible student, and 
when in his seventy-seventh year, just a month 
before his death, having read the Old Testament 
through in three weeks, while intently reading his 
Bible one day his daughter asked him, "Father, 
what are you reading?" he promptly replied, "I'm 
reading the news, daughter." To him the Bible 
was, after a life-long research, a book of news. 
Professor Dana says : "The grand old book of God 
still stands, and this old earth, the more its leaves 
are turned over and pondered, the more it will 
sustain and illustrate the sacred Word." From 



INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES. 1 9 

the pen of Professor Hitchcock we quote the fol- 
lowing testimony: "All along the outskirts of sci- 
ence infidelity has, from time to time, erected her 
imposing ramparts and opened fire upon Christi- 
anity from a thousand batteries. But the moment 
the rays of truth were concentrated upon these 
ramparts they melted away." Goethe is quoted as 
saying: "It is a belief in the Bible which has 
served me as the guide of my moral and literary 
The great Rousseau said: " I must confess 
that the majesty of the Scriptures strikes me with 
-hnient." Coleridge testified: "I know that 
ble is inspired because it finds me at greater 
depths of my being than any other book." Patrick 
Henry, pointing to the Bible, said: "Here is a 
book worth more than all other books which were 
ever printed. 11 The great Doddridge is quoted as 
having said: "Men are indebted to the Bible for 
Ige which they have ac- 
quired. And yet, strange to say, they have nevei 
gone very far h neath the surface of this Uook of 
God for all which they know." 

But how unlike this are all the books of human 
composition ! The well composed tragedi 
Euripides; the densely written histories of Thu- 
1 1 with every syllable pregnant with thought; 



20 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

the works of Lysias with their well formed and 
concisely written sentences ; the great Phocion, 
with his special faculty of saying ("multum in 
parvo") much in few words; besides Homer, Plato, 
and others; and the productions of the master 
minds of modern times, such as Butler and others 
have all been mastered. Every nook and corner 
of them has been perused and mastered by other 
human minds. But could we take but one tele- 
scopic view of the as yet unexplored field of divine 
truth in the Bible, like the disciples on the mount 
of transfiguration, or Saul of Tarsus on his way to 
Damascus in the presence of the post-incarnate 
Christ, we should fall with our faces to the earth 
in utter amazement and awful reverence. But 
whence came this inexhaustible — this infinite mine 
of truth? If men had composed it surely human 
minds of equal strength could fathom the utmost 
depth of its truth. But the fact that this has not 
been done is " prima facie" evidence that it has 
been given by a superhuman mind — by inspiration 
of God. For truths of infinite magnitude can be 
given alone by the infinite mind. And so we read, 
"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God ;" 
" Holy men of God spake as they were moved by 
the Holv Ghost." 



INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES J I 

But another impress of divinity in this Book of 
Books is found, 

II. In its Prophecies. 

Prophecy may be defined as " a miracle of knowl- 
edge." The prophecies of the Bible are many and 
very wonderful ; and are of such a character as to 
make it impossible to account for them on any 
other ground than that of inspiration. A miracle 
may be defined as "a supernatural act" — an act 
which can not be devised by human wisdom nor 
performed by human strength. And so these 
—these miracles of knowledge — can be 
accounted for only on the ground of supernatural 
No human mind has been able to pierce the 
veil and look into the distant future with such cer- 
tainty and accuracy as the prophets of antiquity 
'one. Many of their prophecies have already 

been fulfilled with wonderful precision, while 
others are now in course of fulfillment. The men- 
of only a few of those which have already 
been fulfilled will answer our pur; 

the fate of Babylon was written 
in prophecy long before it actually became an 
event in hist •;. . The prophet Isaiah (xiii. i 

wrote a- definitely as the pen of the modern his- 



22 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

torian concerning the destruction of this ancient 
city. "And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the 
beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as 
when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It 
shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt 
in from generation to generation; neither shall the 
Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shep- 
herds make their fold there. But the wild beasts 
of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall 
be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell 
there, and satyrs shall dance there. And the wild 
beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate 
houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces: and 
her time is near to come, and her days shall not be 
prolonged." This prophecy was uttered about 
seven centuries before Christ. A little later (about 
595 B. C.) we have the prophecy of Jeremiah 
(li- 3 6 > 37) concerning the same fate of this ancient 
city. "Therefore thus saith the Lord; behold I 
will plead thy cause, and take vengeance for thee; 
and I will dry up her sea, and make her springs 
dry. And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwelling 
place for dragons, an astonishment, and an hissing, 
without an inhabitant." 

In these prophecies we have stated the fact that 
this ancient city should become a place of utter 



INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES. 23 

desolation. Daniel (v. 25-31; gives ns an account 
of the destruction of Babylon in connection with 
his interpretation of Belshazzar's dream. The ful- 
fillment of the former prophecies here recorded by 
Daniel took place about fifty-seven years after the 
prophecy of Jeremiah, and about one hundred and 
seventy-four years after that of Isaiah. Aside from 
Daniel's account of the fulfillment of these proph- 
ecies, profane history bears testimony to the fact 
that Babylon was laid in utter ruins, and became a 
dwelling-place for the wild beasts. Ridpath, one 
of the world's most authentic historians, gives us 
'.lowing graphic description of Babylon's 
capture: (Hist of the World, Vol. I., p. 296) 
11 Meanwhile, the Babylonians, in contempt of an 
enemy whom they supposed to be foiled in his 
unusual preparations for the great 
The yonng prince, Belshazzar, gave himself 
sion, A thousand nobles 

: banquet at the palace. 
There was splendor within and darkness without 
It Wfl :n. While the revel was 

•u the wild abandonment of vie 
, tin- bai pening the 

the city. The river 

ii.i moan. The invaders 



34 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

hurried along the banks to the wall of the city. 
There was no alarm. The river had left on either 
side a broad space of bare ground. The Persians 
passed in without opposition. The noise of the 
festival resounded afar. The river gates were seized 
by the invaders, who now sounded the tocsin and 
began the assault. It was a gigantic massacre. 
The drunken Babylonians fled in all directions. 
The prince Belshazzar and his nobles were slain at 
their banquet, and dawn found the victorious Per- 
sians in complete possession of the city. * * * " The 
beauty of the Chaldees' excellency faded like the 
shadow of a pageant from the great canvas of his- 
tory, and the glory of Babylon began to hide itself 
under the dust and ruin of the ages." 

These prophecies, with their fulfillment, are so 
remarkable that no one has attempted to account 
for them except on the ground of their inspiration. 
But Nineveh is another illustrious example of the 
same sort. Both Nahum (i. 8; ii. 8, 13) and 
Zephaniah (ii. 13, 14) prophesied concerning its 
destruction about seven hundred years before 
Christ. Profane history says that the Medes and 
Chaldeans took Nineveh and laid it in utter ruins 
605 B. C, or 95 years after the prophecy was 
uttered. To this Weber (Outlines of Universal 



INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES 25 

ry, p. 10) adds this testimony: 4 'A hundred 
and twenty years after the reign of Salmanasser, 
Nineveh was taken and destroyed by the Medes 
and Chaldeans, and the visitors divided the land 
among themselves. * * * Antiquities and works 
of art are still dug up from the ground where 
Nineveh once stood." Xo human mind, unin- 
spired, has ever been able to peer into the future, 
with any degree of certainty and precision for a 
day. Indeed the Bible has spoken plainly 
concerning it. " Boast not thyself of to-morrow; 
for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth." 
( PlOV. xxvii. 1 ). And yet these prophecies uttered, 
varying from a half to almost two centuries prior 
to their fulfillment, were as concise and accurate 
as any historian could possibly describe them after 
they had actually become events of history. But 

■hall we account for all this except OU the 
ground of inspiration? Ah! The divine mind 
alone can look into the future and view it as if it 

□ the past Por to the divine mind tl. 
and the future are alike. Pot truly, " One day 

is with th< .. thousand years, and a thou- 

one day " tz Pet iii. 8). 
Hut let us next note Borne of the propl 

work < .; Chi ist for further 



26 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

illustrations of this thought: In Genesis (iii. 15) 
we have the initiatory prophecy of the work of re- 
demption by Christ, and of His final triumph over 
the work and power of the devil. A fearful con- 
flict is here prophesied. The seed of the woman 
(Christ) shall bruise the serpent's head; and the 
serpent (Satan) shall bruise His (Christ's) heel. 
But in the conflict "The Lion of Judah " should 
have a glorious victory. That our Lord has ful- 
filled this prophecy in His work of redemption of 
the world from sin and the power of Satan unto 
God, and "in bringing life and immortality to 
light among men," needs no argument to prove. 
The daily experience in the common lot of men is 
the indubitable argument in this case. A little 
later in this book (Gen. xlix. 10) the time of 
Christ's coming is foretold: "The scepter shall 
not depart from Judah, nor a law-giver from be- 
tween his feet, until Shiloh come." Judah did 
hold the scepter or royal authority till Shiloh 
came. But the evening of Judah's reign and the 
dawn of Shiloh' s advent were well-nigh simulta- 
neous events in history. But within a generation 
after Christ's crucifixion, according to His own 
prediction, Jerusalem was destroyed, the whole 
civii and ecclesiastical state subverted, and all dis- 



INSPIRATION OF THl- SCRIPTURJ 27 

tinctiun among the poor harrassed remnant put to 
confusion; and its subjects scattered abroad over 
the face of the earth. And to this day they have 
been even more destitute of the scepter and a law- 
giver than during their Babylonian captivity. 

The Evangelical prophet (Isaiah xl. 3, 4) directed 

the thought of the people to the forerunner of 

Christ. "Tl:e voice of him that crieth in the 

wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord, make 

:.t in the desert a highway for our God." In 

the gospel by Matthew (iii. 1-3) we have the record 

of the fulfillment of this prophecy. "In those 

came John the Baptist, preaching in the 

wilderness of Judea, and saying, Repent ye, for the 

f heaven is at hand. For this is He 

that v. of by the prophet I tying, 

'The ■ :e crying in the wilderness,' ' etc. 

I ;ire the eyes of a seer to recognize 

the fulfillment of this prophecy in the preaching 

and work of John the Baptist as preparatory to our 

advent and work in the progress of the ex- 

the plan of redemption, 

bretells th • 
Christ's birth more than seven hundred years before 

it earn to M his 

triumphal entry into . Dearly live bund* d 



28 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

years before the actual scene occurred; and in al- 
most the same breath (xi. 12) His betrayal for thirty 
pieces of silver. And even David's prophetic eyes 
were not closed upon the doleful scenes of Calvary. 
But looking far out into the distant future he de- 
scribed the scene of mockery and revelry as vividly 
as it was possible for an eye-witness to portray the 
actual scene.* 

These prophecies have all been fulfilled with 
wonderful accuracy, and their fulfillment attested 
to by both sacred and profane historians. They 
are simply such unmistakable and self-evident 
" miracles of knowledge" as all the world is forced 
to own, and as such prove beyond a question to all 
reasonable minds the inspiration of the Scriptures. 

But let us follow these thoughts with a brief 
consideration 

III. Of The Splendor Attending The Birth, Cruci- 
fixion and Resurrection of Christ. 

A miracle may be defined as U A supernatural 
act, t'hat is, an act which cannot be accounted for 
by natural causes, but requires a supernatural 
agency, without the sphere of nature." With this 
definition in mind let us view 

* Compare Psalm xxii. 7-1S with Matt, xxvii. 39-43. 



INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES. 29 

i. The Scene <>/' our Saviour's Birth. We find 
ourselves at once in the midst of an innumerable 
multitude of people. Bethlehem, the City of 
David, is thronged to its utmost capacity. There 
is no longer any room in the inn for the ingather- 
ing multitudes. No room in any inn could be 
found for Joseph and Mary. With many others 
of their company they find shelter with the beasts 
of burden. The shades of night gather about them. 
The wearied multitude, shrouded in the darkness 
of night, is hushed in silence. But amid the sleep- 
ing throng is cradled anew-born babe in a manger. 
It is Christ, the Lord of prophecy. Not far out 
the hill country of Judea the humble shep- 
are watching their flock. " And lo, the 
Angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory 
of the Lord shone round about them, and they 
[raid. And tin- Angel of the Lord said 
Onto them, Pear not, foi behold I bring you good 
tiding ' joy, which shall be to all people. 

For unto yon IS born this day in the City of David 
:our, which is Christ the Lord. And this 
shall be a Sign unto you; >'e shall find the b U 

■thes lying in a manger. 
And suddenly there was with tlu- Angel a multi- 
tude of the heavenly host praising ( i'xl, and Baying, 



30 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth, peace 
good-will toward men. And it came to pass as the 
angels were gone away from them into heaven, the 
shepherds said one to another, let us now go even 
to Bethlehem and see this thing which is come to 
pass, which the Lord hath made known to us. 
And they came in haste, and found Mary and 
Joseph and the babe lying in a manger." Luke 
ii. 9-17. 

"On that night, indeed, it seemed as though the 
heavens must burst to disclose their radiant min- 
strelsies; and the stars and the feeding sheep, and 
the ' light amid the sound in the darkness and 
stillness,' and the rapture of faithful hearts, com- 
bine to furnish us with a picture painted in colors 
of heaven." Ah! But the scene is not yet com- 
plete. In yonder firmament there arises a star in 
all the brightness and splendor of heaven. The 
eyes of the Wise men of the East are fixed upon it. 
They behold in its twinkling the glory of the Lord. 
As if directed by the finger of God they come to 
Jerusalem, inquiring of Herod, the king, "where 
is He that should be born King of the Jews ? For 
we have seen His star in the East, and are come to 
worship Him. * * And lo, the star, which they 
saw in the East, went before them till it came and 



INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPT! I: 31 

stood over where the young child was." Matt ii. 
1-9. 

Amid tlie indifference of a world unconscious of 
its deliverer, God led these Wise men from the 
the miraculous glory and splendor 
attending the birth of our Lord and to worship 
Him in His humble cradle. Ii was a most mar- 
Die indeed. But from this scene of match- 
less splendor let US turn, 

2. To the Scon- of OUT Lord's Crucifixion. 

a sad but no less wonderful scene than 

rmer. It took place only six miles from the 

place of the former scene. It was in the city of 

lem. Not unlike in the former scene, the 

city was thronged t-> its utmost capacity. The 

multitude had gathered for the feast of tin 

. the midst of this great concourse 

the wicked Jews pressed their way 

v. ith one whose back 

■ m tin- scourging 

I at their hands. They weie wend- 
ing their way towards a place without the city 
called On 1 I lie place three 

suspended 

• the head of the middle one waa 



32 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

the superscription, ' ' This is Jesus of Nazareth, the 
King of the Jews." A scene of mockery which 
challenged description followed. Jesus agonized 
and expired. But, lo, even the sun would do 
obeisance to its Maker in this doleful hour by 
veiling its bright light. What consternation must 
have filled the hearts of this great concourse of 
people as they were suddenly left in midnight 
darkness at noonday ! How the guilty conscience 
of Caiaphas, the High Priest, must have quailed 
as the veil of the temple was suddenly rent in 
twain from the top to the bottom ! What confu- 
sion must have prevailed in those crowded streets 
in this thick darkness for three long hours while 
the earth was quaking and trembling to its very 
centre; and the rocks are rent in pieces! Many 
great and good men have died and passed away, 
but never has the world witnessed such a display 
of miraculous splendor and power. No wonder 
the testimony came from among the by-standers, 
"'Truly this was the son of God." And David 
prophesied truly (Psalm cxviii. 23), "This is the 
Lord's doing: it is marvelous in our eyes." 

But Jesus is laid away in Joseph's new sepulchre 
only to renew the scene of wonder. The morning 
of the first day of the week is dawning. Hark! 



INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES. 33 

The earth quakes. Behold, the Angel of God has 
descended and rolled back the great stone from 
the door of the sepulchre. And lo, He whom 
the)' crucified and laid away has come forth. Ah! 
See how the keepers tremble and are become as 
dead men in His presence! And the very resting- 
place of the sleeping saints has been disturbed. 
The graves are opened, and the sleeping saints 
been awaked, and are going into the city 
"bringing glad tidings of great joy" to main-. 

All! Wonder added to wonder has only added to 
the confusion and consternation of a confounded 
And it might truly have been said of 
these wonders as of a previous occasion, " it was 
never BO .-o 11 mi Israel." No, and it never has 

been so seen except at the hands of the God of 
Israel. 

///// what //<is till this to do with the inspiration 
of the />'//- " ry thing: These wonders have 

all been foretold by the prophets and fulfilled, and 
:<• authentic events of history. The.se mir- 
acles of knowledge can be accounted for only on 
the ground of their inspiration of God. For if the 
human mind cannot co m prehend them how much 

Dd write them. But besides this, 

ah and resurrection were at- 
3 



34 AROUND THE HOME TABI.E. 

tended by these scenes of miraculous splendor and 
power; He, of whom it was said in the midst of 
this marvelous scene, "truly this was the Son of 
God," has declared that this book is the inspired 
Word of God. Listen to the Lord of glory as He 
quotes Psalm cxviii. 22 (Matt. xxi. 42): "Jesus 
said unto them, did ye never read in the Scrip- 
tures, The stone which the builders rejected, the 
same is become the head of the corner: This is the 
Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes." 
And then making the application to His hearers 
for their unbelief of the Scriptures, adds (v. 43), 
"therefore say I unto you, the kingdom of God 
shall be taken from you, and given to a nation 
bringing forth the fruits thereof." But again 
(John x. 34-36): "Jesus answered them, is it not 
written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? If He 
called them gods, unto whom the Word of God 
came, and the Scripture cannot be broken; say ye 
of Him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and 
sent into the world, thou blaspheinest; because I 
said, I am the Son of God ? " 

And so in every stage of our Lord's public min- 
istry, because of His persistent use of the Scrip- 
tures as the Word of God, the unbelieving made 
confession of His divinity. Of Him they said 



INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES. 35 

(John vii. 46), "Never man -pake like this man." 
"And when the devil was cast out the dumb 
spake: And the multitude marvelled, saying, it 
was Deversoseetl in Israel." Matt. ix. 33. "Now 
when the centurion, and they that were with him, 
watching Jesus, saw the earth quake, and those 
things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, 
truly this was the Son of God." Matt, xxvii. 
54. Therefore, if He t<> whom divinity was thus 
ascribed quotes the Bible as the Word of Cod, will 
any one presume to gainsay His testimony? Ah, 
no! Bat the testimony of the great Pawcett has 
found a responsive chord in the hearts of the 
Christian world : 

" 1 1 € > -.«. pn . iou 1^ the Book divine, 
By inspiration given! 

lamp it- doctrine* shine, 

Ide <>iir souls t<> heaven. 

• been out drooping heart! 
In this dai k vale <>f tears; 

light ami joy it still ini] 
And quelll <>nr rising f< 

This lamp, throngfa all tin- tedious night 

( )f life, shall guide on: 
Till W light 



36 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

But let us follow this 

IV. With a Brief Historical Account of the Bible 
as Another Witness to its Inspiration. 

History may be regarded, under ordinary cir- 
cumstances, as a proper index to the thought and 
conviction of the popular mind. For men usually 
speak and act as they think and feel. Hence a 
few observations from history will answer our 
present purpose. We observe therefore, 

1. That the divine authority of the Scriptures 
?i'as never questioned prior to the time of the 
advent of Christ into the world. Wicked and 
ungodly persons, individually and collectively, dis- 
regarded, but never questioned the divine author- 
ity of God's Word. The most antique writings of 
which we have any knowledge treat the Bible as 
an inspired book. But if men had believed that 
the Bible was not an inspired book they would 
have said so, and treated it accordingly; and his- 
tory, true to its mission, would have recorded the 
facts in the case. But strange to say we have no 
such records. But we observe, 

2. That profane history has never recognized 
any of the pretended revelations of the world as 
inspired books. They are simply recognizing 



INSPIRATION OF THK SCRIPTURES. 37 

them as factors in the false systems of religion. 

As >uch they properly enter the records of history. 
But if it had not been the common conviction 
among historians that the Bible was an inspired 
book, they would have placed it alongside of 
these pretended revelations simply as factors in 
hi>tory. But with wonderful discrimination they 
have without any exception accorded to the Bible 
the place which it alone deserves as it 7he Hook of 
l's Word — branding all others as 
"pretended revelations.' ' Historical facts like 
these cm not be lightly regarded in forming our 
lusions on this subject. 
But we will conclude our thoughts on this sub- 
ject by noting briefly, 

V. The Spiritual Power of tin- />'//>/<■ in the 
World. 

Tin- influence which the Bible has wielded over 

the world in the past, over all nations and people 

of the earth wherever it is read and taught, eternity 
alone will reveaL Wherever the Bible has been 

placed in the hands of the heathen and taught to 

their people, tii' if reverently bowing to 

tli. Omnipotent God, have crumbled and fallen, 
and th< have been buried in the earth. B\ 



38 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

the power of divine truth their selfish habits of life 
have been transformed into lives of Christian dis- 
cipleship; their servile worship into a service of 
love; their disconsolate faces into those radiant 
with joy in the Holy Ghost; as the sun disperses 
the darkness of the night, causing all nature, with 
renewed life and vigor, to leap for joy at the morn- 
ing dawn, so divine truth disperses the darkness 
of heathenism and sin, and becomes the power of 
God unto salvation to every one that believeth. 
Or, to use the figure of the Evangelical prophet 
(Isaiah lv. 10, 11), "For as the rain cometh down, 
and the snow from heaven, and returneth not 
thither, but watereth the earth, and inaketh it 
bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the 
sower, and bread to the eater; so shall my Word be 
that goeth forth out of my mouth; it shall not re- 
turn unto me void, but it shall accomplish that 
which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing 
whereto I sent it." This prophecy in its course 
of fulfillment is witnessing the transformation of 
the kingdoms of this world into the kingdom of 
our Lord and His Christ. And in bringing about 
this blissful change the Bible stands alone as the 
One Book inspired of God to this end. It is the 
One Book of Books which leads in the civilization 



INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES. 39 

and evangelization of the world. What has the 
Tripitaka of Buddhists done in cither of these re- 
spectS tor the world? How much has the Koran 
of Mohammed contributed towards civilization or 
evangelization? What have either of these pre- 
tended revelations done for the amelioration of 
mankind? But the Bible is "exerting its benign 
influence over the civilized and the barbarous, the 
learned and the ignorant, the rich and the poor, 
the high and the low, blessing the king upon his 
throne and the peasant in his cottage; purifying 
the centers of civilization, and pursuing men with 

oservative and elevating power to the utmost 

of human society." 

ble stands alone in Its hold upon 

the human heart. When the finger of God wrote 

upon the wall of King Belshazzar's palace these 

words, u Mene, mene, tekel, upharsin," "The 

mtenance was changed, and bis thoughts 

troubled him so that the joints of his loins were 

'. and his knees smote one against another.' 1 

of Voltaire that he was daring enough 

at one tire apt to versify that affecting 

atial, the fifty-first, Psalm. Everything went 

w«-ll enough until he came to tin- tenth verse, 



40 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

the prayer, " Create in me a clean heart, O God! " 
But his pride and infernal hatred against God and 
His worshipers did not permit him, with the royal 
penitent, to entreat of God "a clean heart." How- 
ever he tried to versify it. But suddenly the ter- 
ror of hell siezed him; the pen refused to move be- 
neath the hand of the reprobate who had indited 
so many blasphemies and obscenities for the destruc- 
tion of innocence and the fear of God. He sought 
to flee, but he could not. He fell half-senseless on 
his couch, and was afterwards compelled to confess 
that he could not think of the appalling occurrence 
without renewing the terror in his soul. 

It was this same Word of God which our Lord 
was preaching when the officers came to apprehend 
Him, but returned saying, "Never man spake like 
this man." An infidel once said, "there is one 
thing that mars all the pleasure of my life." "In- 
deed !" replied his friend; " and what is that?" 
He answered seriously, "I am afraid the Bible is 
true. If I could know for certain that death is an 
eternal sleep, I should be happy; my joy would be 
complete ! But there is the thorn that stings me. 
This is the sword that pierces my soul, If the Bible 
is true I am lost forever. ' ' 

It was the same Bible from which Paul " rea- 



INSPIRATION OP THE SCRIPTURES. 41 

soned of righteousness, temperance and judgment 

to come" when Felix trembled. It was the power 
of this truth which caused devils "to believe and 
tremble" under the preaching of Christ. It is 
characteristic of the Bible to take hold of the 
human heart as no other book ever has done. 
And in this i.-, grounded its self- perpetuating power. 
In the providence of God the world has never been 
able to hide or extinguish it. ( )n the other hand, 
infidels have written books, but where are they? 
Where is Porphyry or Julian? Fragments there 
it we are indebted even for these to Christian 

criticism. Where is Hume, Voltaire, Boling- 
broke? It requires the world's reprieve to bring a 
copy out of their darkness. But where is tJic 
liible » Wherever there is light speaking the 

language of heaven in four hundred of the tongues 

rth and giving the Word of (rod by fifty mil- 
lion voices to live times as many millions ,,\ men; 
and having swept its path of storm through all 
time, it still walks triumphant, despite earth's 
malice ami hell's eternal wrath; ami like the 

lyptic angel, though it wraps its mantle of 

cloud around it, calmly looks out upon the world 
with il w< re the sun encircled with the 

rainbow. And when all the parchments of earth 



42 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

with "the heavens shall pass away with a great 
noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent 
heat, the earth also and the works that are therein 
shall be burned up," the Bible will still remain 
the same glorious Book of God. For, "heaven 
and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not 
pass away." Matt. xxiv. 35. 

" Firm as a rock thy truth must stand, 
When rolling years shall cease to move." 



CHAPTER II. 

THK IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. 

"It mu>t I Plato, thou reasonest well : 

whence tliis pleasing hope, this fond desire, 
This longing after immortality ? " Addison. 

That the soul is immortal is questioned by 

only who art- lmvlu to unbelief and skep- 
ticism. For to the religious world the doctrine of 
the immortality of tin- soul is one of the cardinal 
doctrines of the Bible. The concern of the people 
of all ages has not been so much about their pres- 

their future existence. Kven Job raised the 

question, "if .1 man die .shall he live again?' 1 

Hut the Scriptural grounds for this belief and con- 
cern have not been so thoroughly apprehended as 

the antJquit) of the doctrine would indicate. The 

aviction has rested rather upon a pre- 
sumption than upon any definite Scriptural con- 
:; of the subject But strange as it ma] 
ird u immortality n does not occur in the Old 
nd but five times in tin- 



44 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

New. Its New Testament use is two-fold: First 
in the sense of a deathless, imperishable (adavaaia) 
existence, i Cor. xv. 53, 54 : 1 Tim. vi. 16. And 
second in the sense of incorruption (aBapcia). Rom. 
ii. 7; 2 Tim. i. 10. 

And yet notwithstanding the comparative ab- 
sence of the word in the Scriptures the doctrine of 
the immortality of the soul has not been conceived 
in modern thought, nor cradled in so-called " New 
Theology."'' But it is one of those doctrines of 
antiquity which has commanded the consideration 
of the people of every age and nation of the world. 
Somehow the people have always been concerned 
about the future. And this general concern has 
grown out of 

I. The Nature of the Soul. 

The Scriptures declare that God breathed into 
man the breath of life and he became a living 
soul. Gen. ii. 7. They do not say that he became 
a living creature, or a living man, but a "tiring 
soul" God must therefore have imparted some- 
thing to man which He did not impart to any 
other portion of His creation. For we have no 
record anywhere that God imparted anything of 
His own to any part of the creation, excepting 



THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. 45 

man, but simply commanded and it was done. 
But we do read of man that God breathed into his 
nostrils the breath of lite, and lie became a living 
son! — endowed with a different nature, and other 
qn difications than those of any part of creation. 
Hence the component parts of man — soul and body. 
The soul must therefore be divine in nature. For 
Live, 

i. Thai nothing of a material character can be 

attributed to Gad. But God said (Gen, i. 26): 
" Let us make man in our image, after our like- 
ness." But it is also written (John iv. 24), " God 
: '<irit." Then tore that which God breathed 
into man must have been spiritual life. And so it 
is written, " and man became a living soul." And 
therefore Luther's definition of the soul, " The 
soul of man is a created Spirit able to kn<>\v, to feel 
and to will." God, who is a spirit, created man 

in His own image <>r likeness, capable of knowing, 
feeling or willing. But that which has thus come 
from tin- hand of God must be imperishable — im- 

Therefore it is written of the mortality 

of the bod-., but of the immortality of the soul 

xii. 7): "The body shall return to the 
* Lather's Small Cat Gen. Synod Bd. ,p 49, q 147. 



46 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

earth as it was, and the spirit to God who gave it." 
Out of the very nature of the soul therefore comes 
welling up the idea of immortality. 

2. It is said that "they that worship Cod must 
worship Him in spirit." Common observation has 
taught us that it is unnatural for any other creature 
than man to worship. We do not find the dispo- 
sition to worship in any part of the animal crea- 
tion. They cannot even be taught to worship. 
On the other hand, we observe that it is just as 
natural for the human race — the only creatures 
with spiritual natures — to worship. Man has uni- 
versally been disposed to reverence and fear God. 
In every age and condition of the world he has 
always manifested a disposition to worship. He 
has never become so debased in sin that this dis- 
position has not asserted itself. It cannot be 
buried so deep beneath the rubbish of this sinful 
world, but that it comes welling up spontaneously 
amidst it all. Here an illustration from Beecher 
is to the point: "These troublesome vines," ex- 
claims a vintner, "why can they not grow up- 
right like bushes?" And one man comes to him 
and says, "it is all because you have tied them to 
oak stakes. If you will get cedar stakes you will 
have no difficulty." The cedar stakes are pro- 



THE IMMORTALITY OF Till-; SOUL. 47 

vided, but still the vines creep and cling. Another 
man says, "Cedar stakes arc- not good; you must 
have hickory. " He gets the hickory, but the 
vines clasp also. Another man says, "it is not 
hickory but chestnut stakes you need;" and so he 
gets the chestnut stakes, but the vines still con- 
tinue to creep and cling. At length there comes a 
man who says, "Your course is wrong from be- 
ginning to end. If you will throw away all your 
stakes, and Stop your training, and leave the vines 
to nature, you will have none of these clambering, 
wild-roaming, embracing ways.' 1 So the vintner 
pulls up the -take-, and clears the piles of timber 
from tin- ground and leaves the vines unsupported. 
And now do they cease to grow upright, and throw 
out tendrils and clasping rings? No. It is their 
nature to cling to something; and if you will not 
give them hold to climb upward, they will not on 
that account < - h out, but will Spread all 

over tin- ground, clasping cold stones, and embrac- 
ing every worthless stick, and the very grass. 

Our religious nature, like the vine, must 

omething to cling to; and one man says, 
"The Braminical system i ! as the Chris- 

tian;" another ..-. . "The old Creek mythology 

is better than either; " another >.i\ B, " Catln ; 



48 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

is preferable to the Protestant form of Christi- 
anity;" and then comes a man who declares that 
all systems are extraneous and hurtful, and that if 
we are left to grow up unprejudiced, with the light 
and laws of nature, such a thing as a religious 
system would never be known or needed. " First,' ' 
he says, "the nurse befools the child, and then the 
mother takes him, and then the priest and the 
church; and so he is educated in false views from 
the beginning." But the truth of the matter is 
this: Religious systems do not create the religious 
nature in man. The religious nature itself, crav- 
ing and longing for development, creates both the 
system and the priests who minister in them. 
The heart, with its thousand tendrils, reaches 
forth to God, and in its reaching clasps whatever 
it may. In short, this disposition to cleave to and 
worship God can be accounted for only on the 
ground of man's spiritual — immortal — nature. 

3. We observe that only spiritual or divine 
natures can render spiritual or divine service. If 
the human soul were not divine in its nature — if 
man were not in possession of immortality — the 
Scripture injunction (John iv. 24), "they that 
worship Him, must worship Him in spirit," would 
be an utter impossibility. But God never has ex- 






THE I.M.MoKTAI.ITV OK Till'. SOUL. 49 

acted impossibilities of man. Therefore man must 

have the ability to worship a spiritual being to 
render .spiritual service. Ami hence the spiritual 
— immortal — nature of the soul. But we note, 

II. That Intuition is Another Evidence of ///<■ 
Immortality of the Soul. 

< me of the strange things of the human race for 
which infidelity does not pretend to account is the 
fact that man's hopes and aspirations can not be 
limited to his present existence. He invariably 
and almost unconsciously looks through the veil 
into a future existence. This is true of all ages, 
past and present, and of all classes of people; of 
the learned and the illiterate; of the Jews and the 
Gentiles — the heathen philosophers not excepted. 
Confucius plainly taught the immortality of the 
soul. Plato, speaking of the immortality of the 
soul, very confidently asked, u can the soul which 
is invisible, and which goes to .mother place, like 
itself excellent, pore and invisible, into the pres- 

»£ a good and wise ( iod --can this soul of ours, 

when separated from the body, be immediately dis- 
and then with equal con- 
fidence answers, " Nay y < very tout is immortal." 
Ami so Aristotle, Cicero, Virgil, Pliny, Sei 

4 



5<D AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

Plutarch — all with one accord in their heathen way 
believed in and taught the immortality of the soul. 
The pen of the English poet Addison, of more than 
a century and a half ago, moved as by inspiration, 
wrote; 

" Why shrinks the soul 
Back on herself and startles at destruction ? 
'Tk the divinity that stirs within us; 
'Tis heaven itself that points out an hereafter, 
And intimates eternity to man." 

And then, as with uplifted eye, peering into the 
future, flow forth the lines: 

" The stars shall fade away, the sun himself 
Grow dim with age, and nature sink in years; 
But thou shalt nourish in immortal youth, 
Unhurt amidst the war of elements, 
The wreck of matter and the crush of worlds! " 

And Sir Walter Raleigh, the night before his 
death, wrote the following lines on a blank leaf of 
his Bible. 

"E'en such is time ; who takes in trust 
Our youth, our joys, and all we have, 
And pays us but with age and dust; 

Who in the dark and silent grave, 
When we have wander'd all our ways, 

Shuts up the story of our days. 
But from this earth, this grave, this dust 

The Lord will raise me up, I trust! " 



THK IMMORTALITY OB T1IH Soli.. 51 

And the great Bulwei has presented this thought 

in his own elegant language thus: "I cannot be- 
lieve that the earth is man's abiding-place. It 
can't be that our life is cast Up by the ocean of 
eternity to float a moment on its waves, ami then 
sink into nothingness; else, why is it that the 
glorious aspirations which leap like angels from 
the temples of onr hearts are forever wandering 
about unsatisfied ? Why is it that the rainbow ami 
clouds come over with a beauty that is not of earth, 
and then pass off, and leave to us to muse upon 
their favored loveliness? Why is it that the stars, 
who hold their festival around the midnight throne, 
are set above the graspofour limited faculties, for- 
ever mocking us with their unapproachable glorv? 
And, finally, why is it that bright forms of human 
beaut] Bted to our view, and then taken 

irom us, leaving the thousand streams of onr affec- 
tion to flow back in Alpine torrents upon onr 

- We are born for a higher destiny than that 

i a realm where the rainbow never 
where the Stan will be Bpread tx fore us like 

islands that slumber on the ocean; and where the 
tike shadows will stay in 

our J lever." 

But looking at it from a slightly different point 



52 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

of view does some one suggest that the application 
on the part of man of the term mortal to himself, 
would seem to afford an exception to our general 
proposition, and to contradict the doctrine of the 
soul's instinctive belief in its own immortality? 
Not so. August Nicholas in his " Etudes Philo- 
sophique sur le Christianisme," after having de- 
scribed the natural phenomena of dissolution as 
they appear in man, in the beast and in the plant, 
pertinently asks: " How comes it that in the heart 
of that universal destruction amid which we live, 
in the sepulcher of our mortal life wherein we are 
immured, the idea of our own immortality has 
penetrated — rather has germinated and flourished ? 
Why is it that no one thinks of attaching this idea 
to the organic or vital principle of a plant or of a 
beast, and that every one, almost without hesita- 
tion, does attach it to the vital principle or to that 
other mortal we call man ? And then why is it 
that on the other hand to himself alone man ap- 
plies the adjective mortal? We never talk about 
the mortality of brutes. Strange that in a world 
where all is mortal, man should reserve this quali- 
fication for himself. May not, however, precisely 
the reverse be true, and because he alone of all 
God's creatures needs to be reminded that, at least 



THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. 53 

in oik- respect — as to bis body — he, as well as all 
things else, is mortal, his Maker has put it into 
his mind instinctively to characterize himself ac- 

Immortality is not an outgrowth of modern 
training or speculation therefore. As a doctrine it 
radled with the human race in Paradise, and 
has been propagated with each successive genera- 
tion as the spontaneous outflow of intuition. 

" O, listen, man! 
A voice within Bl s; t-aks that startling word, 
, thi.u shalt never diel Celestial voices 
By angel fingers touched, when the mild stars 
morning sang together, sound forth still 

The- long of our immortality." — Dana. 

Verily from well nigh every human heart conies 
welling up the intuitive conviction: u The soul is 
immortal." But let us consider, 

III. The Scripture Testimony in Reference to the 
Immortality oj th<- Soul. 

At tin- very beginning of the Scriptures we are 
•i. 7) that God breathed into man the 

breath oflife and he her.uile a living soul. Again 

it is written I a Tim. i. 10). "But it is nowmade 
manifest by the a] • our Savioui J< jus 

Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought 
Ii/t- and immortality t<> light through tin Gospel, 



54 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

According to Webster immortality means, " that 
which cannot die, which is imperishable, having 
an unlimited existence." From the passage in 
Genesis we are evidently taught that God breathed 
of His own divine essence into man. Therefore 
the soul must be divine, and that which is divine 
cannot be other than imperishable, immortal. 
Hence we read (Eccl. xii. 7:) "Then shall the 
dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit 
shall return to God who gave it." So likewise 
when Stephen was being stoned he cried (Acts vii. 
59): " L,ord Jesus, receive my spirit." His body 
perished, but his immortal soul returned to God. 

We are also taught the immortality of the soul 
in the Scriptures from the continuation of life after 
man's death. Our Lord said (John xi. 25, 26): 
"He that believeth in me, though he were dead, 
yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and be- 
lieveth in me shall never die.' 1 '' Again He declares 
(iii. 36): "He that believeth in the Son hath ever- 
lasting life." Paul (Rom. i. 18) quoting Habak- 
kuk (ii. 4) says: "The just shall live by faith." 
Indeed the Bible is full of this kind of promises. 
In Romans vi. 23 it is written: "The gift of God is 
eternal life." And what is "eternal life" but im- 
mortality? According to John iii. 16 Jesus said: 



THE IMMORTALITY 01 THE SOUL. 55 

red the world that He gave His only 
_n Son that whosoever believeth in Him 
should not perish, but have everlasting life." And 
what do the statements, ''should not perish" and 
"have everlasting life" mean if not immortality! 
By inspiration the apostle Paul (1 Cor. xv. 53, 54) 
written: "For this corruptible must put on in- 
btion % and this mortal must put on immortal- 
ity. So when this corruption shall have put on 
incorruption and this mortal shall have put on im- 
mortality, then shall he brought to pass the saying 
that is written, death is swallowed up in victory." 
In this passage we have clearly stated the change 
that shall tafce place after death. And it is de- 
a change from corruption to incorrupt 
/,;,,, — from mortality to immortality. 

The Scriptures also teach the immortalit) of the 
: .a their descriptions of death, of the patri- 
archs we read: "Then Abraham gave up the ghost, 
and died in a good old age." Gen. wdv, 8. Who 
questions tin- fad that this is a .simple description 
of the evident change which tak< s place in the 

; tin- mortal to the immortal .state ? 
d: "And Isaae gave 

„j, ti.. nd died and was gathered unto his 

j it is written: " And 



56 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

when Jacob had made an end of commanding his 
sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed and 
yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his 
people." And of our Lord it is written (Matt, xxvii. 
50): "When He had cried with a loud voice He 
yielded up the Ghost." Now it will be observed 
by our readers, 

1. That iu each of these passages we have the 
same word— "Ghost"— separation of which from 
the body is used to express the state of death. 

2. That the words "ghost" (Pneuina, spirit) 
and "soul" (Psuche) are used interchangeably, 
meaning and including that which God imparted 
to man at his creation. "And God "breathed into 
man the breath of life and man became a living 
soul." 

3. That in each case the Bible speaks of yield- 
ing up— returning— to God that which He had 
breathed into man at his creation. Hence these 
passages are only the abstract statement of the 
truth uttered by the Wiseman (Eccl. xii. 7): 
"Then shall the dust return to the earth as it 
was, and the spirit to God who gave it." The in- 
evitable conclusion, therefore, must be that the 
immortality of the soul is one of the fundamental 
doctrines of the Scriptures. 



TIIK IMMORTALITY Ol- THE SOUL. 



5/ 



But let us notice, 



I V. The Practi* al Results of the Doctrine of the 

Immortality of the Soul. 

The kingdom of God is one of foretastes and 
fruitions on the one hand, and of premonitions 
and warnings on the other. Every important doc- 
trine of the Bible therefore affords a basis for pres- 
ent comfort and edification for some, while to 
others it brings the convictions of guilt and con- 
demnation. And this is even more true of the 
doctrine of the immortality of the soul than of 
some other cardinal doctrines of the Bible. For to 
this fundamental doctrine of the Bible we must 
look as the basis, 

1. For the doctrine of the future rewards ami 
punishments. For without a future life or con- 
scious existence — without immortality — there could 
he no capacity either to enjoy rewards or to suffer 
punishments. In short, without immortality, utter 

annihilation would he the Only alternative. With- 
out the doctrine of the immortality of the soul the 
inspiring assurance of David (Psalm xvii. 1 

shall be Satisfied when I awake with thy likeness/' 
wotdd he worse than a wild speculation. ( >r that 

of St John 1 1 John lii. .; i: "It doth not yet appear 



58 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

what we shall be, but we know that when He shall 
appear we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him 
as He is;" and his sublime description of heaven 
(Rev. xxi. 10-27) would be an absurd delusion. 
But for the doctrine of immortality, the Wiseman's 
declaration (Prov. xiv. 32): "The righteous hath 
hope in his death'' — and our Lord's promise (John 
xiv. 2). " In my Father's house are many mansions, 
* * and * * I will come again and receive 
you unto myself, that where I am there ye may be 
also" — would be base falsehoods. 

On the other hand, but for the doctrine of the 
immortality of the soul, the wicked would not fear 
and tremble at the approach of death, and we 
should never hear of death-bed repentance; or of 
sinners crying out: "Men and brethren, what shall 
we do to be saved," or with contrite hearts crying: 
" Lord, be merciful to me a sinner." But for this 
doctrine we should not have heard the wicked Vol- 
taire, on the very verge of eternity, exclaim: "I 
look behind me and all is dark ; I look before me 
and all is dark; soon I shall make a leap into the 
dark." But for this doctrine we should not have 
heard of the rich man in "hades" calling to Abra- 
ham in Paradise to send Lazarus to him to cool his 
parching tongue (Luke xvi. 24). Nor the two pos- 



THE IMMORTALITY OF Till- SOUL. 59 

sessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceed- 
ing fierce, and saying: "What have we to do with 
thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? Art thou come 
hither to torment us before the time?" (Matt 
viii. 28, 2(j). Xo, but for the doctrine of the im- 
mortality of the soul we should have none of these 
premonitions of the future state of torment. But 
as a practical result of this great doctrine of God 
the people of God have a rich experience in this 
life, cheering and inspiring every part of their 
being into the more perfect activities of life, while 
the unsaved are bearing about with them the con- 
viction of judgment to come. The righteous do 
have hope in death. They do peer into the future 
with bright anticipation of the time when they 
shall realize the fruition of their faith and sacri- 
In view of this doctrine we can appreciate 
fully the Psalmist's cheering language (Psalm 
xxiii. . though I walk, through the valley 

of the shallow of death, I will fear no evil," and 
catch new inspiration from John's thrilling de- 
al Of thi the blessed ill that city 

md maker is God (Rev. xxl 10-27). 

And ai they approach the transition from the life 

in the body to that in glory join in the apostle's 

if triumph: ,,) death, where i 1 - thy sting? 



60 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

O grave, where is thy victory ? * * But thanks 
be unto God which giveth us the victory through 
our Lord Jesus Christ." 

On the other hand, in view of this doctrine the 
wicked tremble at the very thought of death and 
the judgment Men flee from the wrath which is 
to come, and make their peace with God through 
our Lord Jesus Christ. It moves men to forsake 
him who begets falsehood and hatred, and to em- 
brace Him who fills our very lives with truth and 
love. The doctrine of the immortality of the soul 
places a stigma upon sin and uncleanness, and 
blights the hopes and aspirations of the vile. It 
puts a premium upon righteousness and a libel 
upon unrighteousness. As such this fundamental 
doctrine of the Bible becomes the ruling monitor 
of the world. It becomes a real reward in glory; 
of restraint to the lawless in this life and of their 
just deserts in eternity. In this is served a divine 
purpose in this great doctrine, seldom, if ever, 
properly appreciated, if at all apprehended, by the 
common mind. And hence the doctrine of the 
immortality of the soul becomes the basis 

2. Of our civil and religious liberty. The great 
fundamental principles of all law in this life are 
vested in this doctrine. Without these principles 



THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. 6l 

in law even - thought of submission and of obedi- 
ence would vanish as the dew of the morning 
But the principles of this doctrine in the very law 
of our being beget our intuitive convictions of 
right and wrung. And by these men are moved to 
submission and obedience. And both the moral 
and civil law find in these principles the basis of 
their operation. As a practical result of the doc- 
trine of immortality men are intuitively moved to 
respect both the law of (rod and man, submit to 
and obey them. Hence under the preaching of 
the Gospel some are moved to a holy life, their 
very being becomes radiant with cheer, their lives 
Bweetened by the love and grace of ('.ml, and their 
future blight with the hope of His glory. Others 
by the same intuitive- impulses are restrained from 

sin and lav by the threat of condemnation 

and consequent woe and misery. Why? Cer- 
tainly not for what their is in this life, either of 
hope or of condemnation. For if in this life only 
ve hope all would unite in fulfilling the 
prophecy of I aiah (xxii. 13): "Let as eat ami 
drink; for to-morrow we shall die." But all are 

actuated by the fundamental principles of the doc- 
trine of immortality. It is the thought of the 

future whii h begi ts these profound convictions of 



62 AROUND THE HOME TABT.E. 

right and wrong, and such a profound respect for 
both the moral and civil law. It is because both 
of these, together with our intuitive convictions, 
assert that, 

" It is not all of life to live, 
Nor all of death to die ! " 

that the principles of civil and religious liberty 
find a response in the human heart. Or, as 
another has put it, "because all the laws of this 
life are but the indices of the future administration 
of justice, men respect and obey them." The 
thought of immortality begets in the hearts of 
men every principle of true patriotism, and there- 
fore loyalty to their country's laws, and reverence 
for their fathers' God, both for the joy and the 
honor there is in such a life on earth and for the 
hope of the fruition of such a life to come. The 
thought of immortality is to the law of our body 
politic what the backbone is to the human body. 
The hope of infinite felicity as a future reward for 
the life of faith and obedience, gives stability of 
character to the good, while the thought of judg- 
ment to come forces restraint and submission on 
the part of the bad. To all comes the thought 
with greater or less frequency, so vividly ex- 
pressed by Charles Wesley, 



THF IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. 63 

" And most I be to judgment brought, 
And answer iu that day 
For every vain and idle thought, 
And every word 1 

Yes, every secret of my he.trt 

Shall shortly be made known, 
And I receive my just desert 
all that I have done." 



Or the intuitive conviction, as by inspiration 
Rev. x.\. i2>, "And I saw the dead, small and 
great, stand before God; and the books were 
opened; and another book was opened, which is 
the Book of Life; and the dead were judged out of 
those things which were written in the books, ac- 
cording to their works.* 1 The doctrine of immor- 
talit> res these truths their great power in 

both the civil and the moral law. 

3. The doctrine of immortality becomes the 

Christian's mighty fortress. For so it is written 
xviii. lO), "The name of the Lord is a 

strong tower, the righteous runneth into it and is 

This truth gives inspiration not alone to 

this life, but qu ■ irations for that which is 

It gXVCfl DUOyanCJ amid the trials and 

: this life, and brilliancy to the hope of 
the future. "Tlu- righteous hath hope in his 



64 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

death," as a promise, has given strength to "many 
weak and sickly " in their struggles for victory 
over sin, and given new powers of faith to many 
doubting ones. The doctrine of immortality is the 
firm anchorage of every Christian's hope. It is the 
one star which shines brightest in his soul — the 
star which "shines more and more unto the per- 
fect day." "Immortality! As a doctrine it in- 
spires courage in every Christian's breast, and has 
made heroes of cowards, and cowards of heroes." 
Luther on his way to Worms, when dissuaded by 
his friends, said: "I will go to Worms, though 
there be as many devils there as there are tiles on 
the houses' roofs." But the great Voltaire quaked 
as he contemplated his doom. Paul sang his hymn 
of triumph at a martyr's block, while devils trem- 
bled in the presence of their Lord. Immortality ! 
The assurance of it is the motive power which is 
pushing the train of gospel truth into every land 
and clime, and giving efficacy to the teaching and 
preaching of it among all classes and conditions of 
men. The assurance of it is moving men to speak 
the language of heaven in every populated land 
and on the isles of the sea. The assurance of it is 
the dawn in the way of salvation to all people and 
has made possible the advanced religious state so 



beautifully described by our sainted Dr. Sprecher: 

" We live amid the blessed results of Christianity. 
The leaven, SO little when first inserted, is rapidly 

fermenting, and will soon leaven the entire mass 

of humanity. The mustard seed, so small, has 
sprung into a great tree, affording leaves for the 
healing of the nations, and extending its branches 

for a -heller to the weak and helpless, and afford- 
'.ing shade for the rest of those who 
'labour and are heavy laden.' The kingdom first 
promised to the little flock has extended its bound- 
aries far and wide, exerting its benign influences 
over the civilized and the barbarous, the learned 
and the ignorant, the rich and the poor, the high 
and the low; blessing the king upon his throne and 
the peasant in his cottage; purifying the centers of 
civilization, and pursuing men with its conservative 
and elevating power to the utmost verge of human 
Many centuries have passed since this 
kingdom was promised by the Great King to the 

'little flock. 1 Meantime earthly thrones have been 

and overturned, kingdoms have been estab- 
lished and destroyed, nations have risen and fallen, 

and Others now exist, in turn to be swallowed up 

by the billows.,!" time; but triumphant and high 

above the Storm and the waves has stood this 



66 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

heavenly kingdom, ever growing in power and 
glory; and thus it will stand until 'great voices 
shall be heard from heaven,' proclaiming that 'the 
kingdoms of this world have become the kingdom 
of our Lord and His Christ.'" Aye! And the 
doctrine of the immortality of the soul has made it 
all possible. 

Immortality! The assurance of it is turning the 
eyes of the world upon Him who u hath abolished 
death, and hath brought life and immortality to 
light through the Gospel." And notwithstanding 
the fact that the infidel host is scoffing at the Gos- 
pel of peace and reconciliation, the assurance of 
immortality is speeding the time when "every 
knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that 
Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the 
Father." And when the Christian world can join 
Paul most heartily in his testimony of triumjm, "I 
have fought a good fight, I have finished my 
course, I have kept the faith; henceforth there is 
laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the 
Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that 
day: And not to me only, but unto all them also 
that love His appearing." (2 Tim. iv. 7, 8.) 
Thank God for this cardinal doctrine of the Bible — 
that of the immortality of the soul. 



CHAPTER III. 

JUSTIFICATION. 

In the consideration of this subject it will be 

for tlie reader to keep in mind the following 

•f Scripture : 

14 And by him all that believe are justified from 

all things, from which ye could not be justified by 

the law of Moses." Acts xiii. 39. 

" !:• ing justified freely by his grace through the 

redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God hath 

set forth t<> be a propitiation through faith in his 

. to declare his righteousness for the remission 

of BUS that are past, through the forbearance of 

Cod; to declare, I say, at this time his righteous- 

that he might be just, and tile jlistitier of llilll 

which believeth in Jesus." Rom. iii. 24-26. 

■' Now. it was not written for his sake alone, 

that it was imputed t<> him; but for us also, to 

whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him 
that raised up Jt mis our Lord from the d(.\u\\ who 

and was raised 1 

for our justification." Rom. iv. 33-25. 



68 AROUND THE HOME TABLET. 

"Therefore being justified by faith, we have 
peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 
much more then, being now justified by his blood, 
we shall be saved from wrath through him." Rum. 
v. i, 9. 

"Knowing that a man is not justified by the 
works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, 
even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we 
might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not 
by the works of the law; for by the works of the 
law shall no flesh be justified. But if, while we 
seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are 
found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of 
sin? God forbid." Gal. ii. 16, 17. 

A clear and accurate acquaintance with the fun- 
damental principles of true religion is of paramount 
importance to every Christian. The chief doctrines 
in the plan of salvation cannot be too carefully 
studied or too well understood. In regard to the 
doctrine of justification much error now exists, 
partly because of the fact that the subject, as such, 
has not received proper attention on the part of 
the ministry, and of Christian teachers: and in 
part because of the present tendency of the popular 
mind. Of the former we need not speak. Con- 
cerning the latter we take the liberty to quote from 



JUSTIFICATION. 69 

Rev. S. A. Ort, D. I). He says, * "A mark of high 

111 on our part will be to recognize the pre- 
dominant facts of the age in which we exist. We 
are living in the closing years of the nineteenth 
century — a century of busiest activity, of un- 
equaled enterprise, of unparalleled progress, of won- 
derful achievements; a century which has phases 
of thought, scientific, philosophical and theolog- 
ical, and tendencies of movement peculiar to itself. 

' Mm are pushing their investigations into 
every field of knowledge. * * * They are seek- 
ing m nature and in the powers of the human 
mind the .substantial good, the eternal portion of 

oul. With all this, a restless, dissatisfied 
spirit everywhere prevails < >n the one hand the 
not content with the teachings of skep- 
They do not find in the practice of these 
tion which they crave. Neither on the 
other hand do they get in the doctrinal proposi- 
tions or formal statements of divine truth, that rest 

il and deep assurance of union with God, 
winch are the special promise of the Gospel. In 

rg Theologi( il Semin iry, Springfield) 
Ohio Prom bUop the Genera] Synod 

r.f the i Luthei in Churcfa in Unit< 



JO AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

its living the age is largely sensuous. The earth- 
born spirit excites its energy, governs its conduct 
and directs its activity. * * * Religion, with 
its eternal concerns, is deemed an idle fancy, or 
superstition, or senseless something, which, when 
dressed in sensuous garb, may serve to entertain 
and give a momentary pleasure. True, the age 
talks much in one way and another about moral 
principle and spiritual truth. It familiarly uses 
such words as sin, and righteousness, and gospel, 
and even salvation; but these are merely words of 
formal speech, repeated parrot-like, with no deep 
sense of the realities they express. I do not mean 
to say that our time is worse than any period of 
the human past. By no means. This would be 
an inconsiderate remark. But I do mean to say 
that in our day, on this Western Continent, mate- 
rialism, with all its sequences, wields a moulding 
power over the life of the people, over their 
thoughts, over their beliefs, and over the course 
of their movement. And in addition, I mean to 
say, that rationalism is beginning to show a domi- 
nating influence in many quarters, and is gradu- 
allv moving forward to a more extensive sway 
over the religious views and faith of the multitudes. 
"In consequence of these existing facts, two ten- 



JUSTIFICATION. 7 1 

dencies are clearly discernable in the Evangelical 

Church. < )ne is the endeavor to substitute the 
form of the Christian life for the life itself, or the 
expression of Christian sentiment for the truth in 
that sentiment Emphasis is place! on the phe- 
nomenal, and hence a phase of religious phenome- 
nted as tin best attraction to an out- 
■ >r/d to frequent the house of prayer^ and to 
to tlu Id it is exhibited as th<- most accept- 

Almighty Goa\ and of being 
fly Christian. This is form a I ism. * * * 
"The other tendency is to substitute human in- 
vention f<»r the power of Divine Truth. The the- 
ory is, that the preaching of the gospel must be 
adapted to the sensuous taste of the day, instead of 
directed to the conscience of the people. 
• for show, greedy for entertain- 
ment, fond of physical excitement, and intensely 
delighted by the extravagant The preaching, 
a d the church and make the 

r, is any thing that in word, or 

niani' Ui, under the semblance of gospel 

truth, will tion. This is commonly 

■ lonalism. 

'•And now in the face of these tendencies, with 
1 ruling tl the masses and 



J 2 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

rationalism beginning to reveal its presence in 
growing strength, what needs to be done ? In 
order to maintain the truth of the gospel in our 
time, to win the fight of a true Christianity and be 
indeed a glorious power for Christ, what on our 
part is necessary ? I answer : A clear, deep, prac- 
tical apprehension of the fundamental nature of 
the evangelical principle : ' The just shall live by 
faithS This is the vital principle of the gospel. 
It is not a mere doctrine, that which by reflection 
is worked out in thinking, and given definite limit 
and logical form, but it is a fact revealed in Chris- 
tian consciousness, and is primarily a reality 
known in experience." 

Hence the importance of this chapter. And 
while it is not our purpose to enter into a theolog- 
ical discussion of this important subject, we would 
present it in such biblical light as to bring the 
truth clearly before the reader, inspire a greater 
desire for a well-grounded religious life, and a 
simple but unswerving faith in God through our 
Lord Jesus Christ. 

And one thing about which many people err, in 
practice at least, if not in theory, we would empha- 
size at the very outset, viz.: the impossibility of 
justification from any human source or standpoint. 



JUSTIFICATION. 73 

For it is written (P& exxx. 31, "It" thou. Lord, 
shouldest mark iniquities, U Lord, who shall 
stand?" And again (cxliii. 2), " Enter not into 
judgment with thy servant; for in thy sight shall 
no man living l>e justified." Let us not be de- 
ceived, therefore. Justification must come through 
some other than a human source. And hence it 
may be well tor us first of all to consider briefly 

The Nature oj Justification. 

The term justification is a legal one, and means 
Ive from guilt It calls to mind a 
prisoner at the bar. He has broken the law of the 
land, and has been arraigned for trial, found guilty, 
and sentenced to death. He is a VOUUg man. His 
Gather stc]>s forward and offers to die in his stead. 

The court accepts the transfer, and the prisoner is 

law that had said he must die can- 
no- harm him now. For by means of the substi- 
tution he has been taken out of its -r.i^j>. This is, 

in a measure, an illustration of justification. By 

• sinful nature all men are prisoners at Cod's 

bar of justice, and under the sentence of eternal 

Por the law had said, " the soul th.it sin- 

neth it shall di< xviii. i, 2". Hut Christ, 

; by infinite love. Condescends to take man's 



74 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

place, and the court of heaven accepts the transfer. 
The sufferings and death of Christ are declared to 
be an equivalent for the death of the whole world. 
Hence, by means of this substitution, not one only, 
but all, who by faith accept the offers of Christ, 
are released from the penalties of the law so far as 
pertains to their sins past. They are therefore 
declared guiltless, and stand justified before the 
law, and before God, the executor of that law. 

But onr illustration comes short in this: The 
father may take the place of his son, endure his 
allotted punishment, but he could not thereby 
cleanse his son's heart from guilt. The son, having 
actually committed a crime, has stained his soul 
with guilt, as well as his name and character. 
The father might release him from the court, and 
the prison, and the scaffold, but as the son went out 
into the world again he would go as a guilt}' man 
still. Before he could be perfectly free or pure, the 
crimson stains of sin must be washed from his 
heart, as well as from his public name and record. 
This no earthly power could do. But when, by 
means of the other substitution, sinners are justi- 
fied and pardoned before God, by faith in Christ, 
they are not only released from the penalty of the 
law — not only declared guiltless, and go released 



JUSTIFICATION. 75 

from eternal death — but are at the same time 
pure in heart They are cleared outwardly, 
and cleansed inwardly ; they are justified legally, 
and actually become holy. Jesus Christ, our sub- 
stitute, not only satisfies the law of God, but by 
toning blood and the work of grace, also 
changes the heart and life of all who accept of him. 
is a marked difference therefore between the 
illustration used, and the thought illustrated. 
Justification may therefore be defined as an act 
race, whereby he pardons the sin- 
ner, receives him into his favor, and accepts him 
hteous ah.ue for the sake of Jesus Christ. 
And as SUCh it includes at least three things : 
i. Pardon of sin. The law being now satisfied 
ir guilt, "we have peace with God 
through <>ur Lord Jesus Christ." (Rom. v. [.) 
Therefore La. Iv. 7 "let the wicked forsake his 
and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and 
let him return unto the Lord, and lie will have 
upon him; and to our God, for he will 
abundantly pardon." 

punishment The law having 

to the guilt of sin, then can be DO 

I anishment 1 U n< e it is written 
(Rom. viii. i), "There is therefore now do con- 



y6 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

demnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who 
walk not after the flesh but after the spirit." And 
therefore we have 

3. A title to eternal blessediiess. ' ' For God so 
loved the world that he gave his only begotten 
son that whosoever believeth in him should not 
perish but have everlasting life." John iii. 16. Or 
as Paul has it (Rom. v. 2), "By whom also we 
have access by faith into this grace wherein we 
stand, and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God." 

The Ground of Justification. 

Here God's word is very clear. Paul, in pre- 
senting this subject to the people at Antioch, de- 
clared (Acts xiii. 38, 39), " Be it known unto you, 
therefore, men and brethren, that through this man 
is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins, and 
by him " (that is, by Jesus Christ) " all that believe 
are justified from all things, from which you could 
not be justified by the law of Moses." The reader 
will readily discover in this passage a negative and 
a positive statement : Through Jesus Christ we 
have forgiveness of sins and justification, but they 
could not be obtained through the law of Moses. 

1. Because it demanded perfect obedience, which 
was a sheer impossibility for man. For it is writ- 



JUSTIFICATION. 77 

ten (James ii. io), ,4 Whosoever shall keep the 
whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty 
of all." Here perfect obedience in every point is 
demanded. This do man could render. 

2. Becausi it acknowledges no repentance. For 
example, a criminal under the civil law is held for 
justice. Though he repent in sackcloth and ashes 
day and night, he cannot be released until the law 
een satisfied by the infliction of its penalty. 
Hence we read (Gal iii. io, n), "For as many as 
are of the works of the law are under the enrse; for 
it IS written. Cursed is every one that continneth 
not in all things which are written in the book of 

the law tO do them. But that HO man u justified 

by tht- lau in the sight o/God^ it is evident; for the 
just shall live by faith." And then we could not 
be justified In the law, 

threatenings <>/ punishment could 
i. Tin- law must be satisfied. In 
this respect the law of Moses was even more un- 
than that of the Mcdes and Persians. 
Neither was this an arbitrary matter, but was ne- 
tted by the veracity and moral character of 
the great Lawgiver. Therefore it is written (Gal. 

iii. II): u Bu1 that no man is justified l>v the law in 
■:. It is evident." 1 1< HOC the I 



78 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

sity of a Saviour in whom to ground our only hope 
for justification. And therefore Paul's declaration, 
"and by him all that believe are justified from all 
things." Acts xiii. 39. For where the law de- 
manded perfect obedience our Lord rendered it. 
For he was in all points tempted like as we are, yet 
without sin. Heb. iv. 15. And where the threat- 
enings of the law could not be repealed without a 
perfect atonement, he rendered it. " For Christ 
also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the un- 
just, that he might bring us to God, being put to 
death in the flesh, but quickened by the spirit." 
1 Pet. iii. 18. He therefore gave perfect satisfac- 
tion to all the demands of the law, and as such 
gave rise to three causes as the ground of justifica- 
tion, all centering in himself: 

1. The efficient cause — the grace of God. Justi- 
fication on the part of God is an act of pure grace. 
"For by grace are ye saved through faith ; and 
that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God; not 
of works, lest any man should boast. For we are 
his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto 
good works." Eph. ii. 8-10. And again: "Being 
justified freely by his grace through the redemption 
that is in Jesus Christ." Rom. iii. 24. The grace 
of God therefore is the efficient cause of our justi- 
fication. And then we have 



Jl'STIFICATI- ~ y 

2. The meritorious cause— the blood of Christ. 
"Whom God bath set forth to be a propitiation 
through faith in his blood." Rom. iii. 25, Thus 
Paul, of whom it is said that he received his the- 
ology at the feet of Gamaliel, and his spiritual 
light ami strength at the feet of Jesus, would em- 
ize this important truth. The blood of beasts 
had been shed, but all without any intrinsic merit. 
It was only the .symbol of that which did have 
merit. lint now the time has come when we no 
longer have the symbol, but when with the be- 
John 1 John i. 71 we can truly say, "and 
the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from 

all sin." Heme from persona] experience conies 
the testimony — 

■ ' 

On Jewish altars slain, 

Could give the guilty conscience pi 

;.■ the stain. 

- the heavenly Lamb, 

Takes at': 

A sarrifi. ■ .,i nobler nai 
And richer 1>1..<«1 than they." 

ed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus 

Christ. 



So AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

" There is a fountain filled with blood 
Drawn from Immauuel's veins ; 
And sinners plunged beneath that flood 
Lose all their guilty stains." 

3. The instrumental cause — faith. Of Abraham 
it is said (Gen. xv. 6): "And he believed in the 
Lord, and he counted it to him for righteousness." 
Again it is written (Rom. v. 1): "Therefore being 
justified by faith we have peace with God through 
our Lord Jesus Christ." And (iii. 28): "There- 
fore we conclude that a man is justified by faith 
without the deeds of the law." 

With the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ as the 
efficient, and his blood as the meritorious cause, 
we have in each of these passages faith as the in- 
strumental cause. It is the instrument by which 
we embrace and appropriate Christ unto justifica- 
tion. "It is the eye through which we look to 
Jesus. It may be all bleared and dim-sighted, but 
it is an eye — an instrument of sight still. It is the 
foot on which we go to Jesus. It may be a lame 
foot, but even then an instrument of motion — it is 
a foot still. It is the tongue by which we taste of 
the water of life, and testify to the goodness and 
love of Christ, and to the riches of his grace. It 
may be all feverish and parched from a sin-sick 



JUSTIFICATION. 8 1 

soul, but it is the instrument of taste and testi- 
mony — it is a tongue still." 

But notwithstanding these thoughts methinks 

I hear one of my readers persistently asking, But 

what is this faith? The author of the Epistle to 
the Hebrew lefines it thus : l< Now faith is 

the substance of things lioped for, the evidence 
of things not seen.* 1 And then adds (verse 6): 
" Hut without faith it is impossible to please him ; 
for he that conieth to God must believe that he is 
and that he is the rewarder of them that diligently 
seek him." We are impressed herewith the fact 
that there is nothing distinctively Christian— no 
intrinsic worth — in a mere intellectual recognition 
of the existeno We must not simply 

believe that the : :, but that " he is the re- 

: of them that diligently seek him." Hence 
tiie tWO Classes of faith — the historical and the 

justifying or saving faith. Tin- one has simply 
allowed reason and conscience t<> work naturally 

and normally, and he believes there is a God be- 

corrupt heart and desires have not been 
able to crush out and extinguish tin- mere mental 

llition. In this kind ot faith there ran be no 

merit. Neither cm there be any merit in a general 
belief in the historical existence of Jesus Christ. 
6 



82 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

No man whose mind is open to evidence of any 
kind can help believing that there lived in Pales- 
tine, over 1900 years ago, a most wonderful person 
and teacher whose recognized name was Jesus. To 
believe this is no more praiseworthy or meritorious 
than to believe in the historical existence of Caesar, 
Socrates, or Hannibal. Nay, devils, in the time 
of our Lord, did even more than this: "They be- 
lieved and trembled." And yet, many suppose 
that if they accept intellectually the mere facts of 
Christ's life and suffering and death, that they 
have exercised a justifying or saving faith. But 
not so. Aside from and in conjunction with the 
mental apprehension — the assent or nod of the 
mind in the exercise of justifying faith — there 
must be that spiritual operation of the heart which 
not only conceives of but also lays hold upon and 
appropriates the efficacious blood of Christ. Hence 
we read (Rom. x. 10): "With the heart man be- 
lieveth unto righteousness." It was this kind of 
faith Paul had in mind as he so triumphantly de- 
clared : " Therefore being justified by faith we have 
peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." 

But without prolonging this line of thought, an 
illustration may better serve our purpose. Yonder 
is a traveler at the bank of a wide and perilous 



JUSTIFICATION. 83 

stream. He is seeking treasures on the other side, 
and feels that the stream must be crossed. The 
mist of darkness obscures the opposite shore from 
view. As lie stands he would fain gaze through 
the blackness of darkness, but he can scarcely see 
beyond the b"iind of feeling by touch. The sky is 
threatening, and the roar of great waters strfkes 
terror to his heart. But in his strain to peer far- 
ther out into the darkness his eyes catch a glimpse 
Of 8 man with a small boat, only large enough in 

fact for two, the traveler and the pilot. The trav- 
eler begins to question the pilot: "Canyon take 
the river safely?" "lean." " Do you 
warrant the passage?" " I do." " I low long have 
you been here?" "A long time" ( John i 1 ; Ps. 
xe. 2). "Have you carried many across?" "Yes, 
there is a great city with an innumerable multitude 

: the other shore, all of whom have 

i this way." "I- there no other way across 

this stream?" "No, sir (Acts iv. 12). Just yon- 

tnnant of an old bridge, whose foundation 
is of the Bto< k of Abraham, and its covering of mor- 
ality; and it promises well at the start, bnt it does 
the opposite shore. Nay, it vanishes 

the depths of the Current And although 

thousands upon thousands have tried it, not one 



84 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

among them all has ever reached the other shore. 
Many of them pass by this way every day, and in- 
quire for the bridge ; and, notwithstanding my 
warning, they pass on; but the bridge being old 
and rotten and full of pitfalls, the lifeless corpses 
of these travelers come floating past this way every 
day." "But, what is your price for crossing?" 
"Nothing at all, sir. The government on the 
other side furnishes the passage free to all who de- 
sire it." (John iii. 16; Isa lv. 1-3). u But is not 
your boat small, sir?" "Yes, and purposely so. 
It was only made for a personal ride — one at a time 
in company with myself. The way across the 
stream is straight and narrow (Matt. vii. 14), and 
those who go with me must leave behind them all 
their goods and companions for the time being, and 
commit themselves, soul and body, with all their in- 
terests, for time and eternity, entirely unto me. 
They must submit to my bidding while crossing. In 
short, in this passage, they must commit every- 
thing to me." "Must I lose all my goods and com- 
panions forever?" "Ah! your goods you will not 
need, and your companions can follow, one by one, 
if they will. And, now, have you faith in what I 
say? If so, step in." The traveler hesitates, casts 
a look forward, then backward, and on either side, 



JUSTIFICATION. 85 

and then slowly and meditatively repeats to him- 
self: 

" I'll go to Jesus, though 111 y rill 
Hath like a mountain -. 
I kuow his courts — I'll enter in, 
Whatever may oppose. 

•rate 111 lie before his throne, 
Aii'l there my guilt confess, 

I'll tell him I'm a wretch undone, 
Without his -ov'reign grace. 

" Perhaps lie will admit my plea, 

Perhaps will hear my prayer ; 
But if I perish, I will pray 
Ami perish only there. 

" T can hut perish if I go, 

I am TtSOlx 

! 1 -.' I ttay away, I it 
/ must forever die." 

And so, with fear and trembling he steps down 
into the boat, < ommits himself entirely to his pilot, 

and is lauded safely Oil the Other shore. Mow this 
pilot is Christ, the stream is the River of IJfe, the 

city is the New Jerusalem, and committing our- 
wholl) to tin- i l( ,.it > omprehends at [east two 

import. mt m justifying faith, viz. : the 

mental apprehensions of the way, and the confident 



86 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

reliance on the ability of the pilot to do his part. 
And with one part more, viz.: That spiritual ope- 
ration of the heart which appropriates the saving 
merits of Christ to the sin-sick soul, and we would 
have in the above a complete illustration of justify- 
ing or saving faith. But justifying faith embraces 
the self-surrender, the confident reliance and the 
believing heart. "Therefore being justified by 
faith we have peace with God through our Lord 
Jesus Christ." 

" Lord, give us such a faith as this; 
And then, whate'er may come, 
We'll taste e'en here the hallowed bliss 
Of an eternal home." 



CHAPTER IV. 
THE TOKEN OF THE COVENANT. 

There is something inspiring in the thought 
1 rod has condescended to establish a covenant 
of love and mercy — a bond of union between him- 
self an<l his people. O what a thought ! By 

nature under the enrse, but by vow in the cove- 
nant. And that (»od has established such a cove- 
nant with his people is an accepted fact by all 
who believe his word. It was in the formation 
and keeping of that covenant that Abraham was 
called "the friend of (rod;" not simply as the man 
counsel, but also as ll the man of his cove- 
nant." And that covenant, proposed by God and 
entered into with Abraham, was not only the 
ground of hope for Israel, but for all of like faith. 

u was: " I will establish 

ivenant between me and thee, and thy seed 

■iir, in //. i <in everlasting 

1 xvii. ~. And to n move all doubt 

from the minds of the Gentiles of Galatia, Pud 
id : u If ye be Christ's then are 



88 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the 
promise." Hence what inspiration and zeal this 
thought should beget on the part of all God's 
people. 

But the matter into which we would lead the 
reader's mind in this chapter is 

The Token 

of that covenant. When God established the 
covenant with his people, and circumcision as the 
initiatory rite of that covenant, he said (Gen. xvii. 
n): " And it (that is, circumcision) shall be a token 
of the covenant betwixt me and you." But having 
passed from the dispensation of the law and the 
prophets, headed by a Levitic priesthood, to a dis- 
pensation of gospel light and life, witli the " seed 
of Abraham " as ii J 7 rophei, Priest and King" and 
a universal priesthood of believers ; and having 
the divine assurance of an " everlasting covenant" 
we naturally inquire, with the change of dispensa- 
tions, has there been any change of tokens of the 
covenant? And if so, what is the token of the 
covenant in the present dispensation ? And with- 
out a dissenting voice the answer comes, with the 
change of dispensations a change of the token of the 
covenant has taken place. What then is the pres- 



THE TOKEN OV THE COVENANT. 

ent token of the covenant ? To this there can be 
but one answer, vi/.., baptism. For it will be ob- 
served that we have no ordinance or sacrament in 
the ( Hd Testament, but that has its corresponding 
ordinance in the New Testament. The present 
sanctuary service has its prototype in the old taber- 
nacle service; the preaching of the gospel in the 
rig and exposition of the law; the Lord's Sup- 
per, in memory of our deliverance from the bond- 
age of sin by the atonement in the blood of Christ, 
• in the Paschal feast, in memory 
of the deliverance of Israel from Egyptian bond- 
ed if baptism does not take the place of cir- 
cumcision, then what does? But every candid 
and thoughtful student of God's word, and of the 
>ur Lord and his Apostles, will at once 
le that baptism has taken the place of cir- 
cumcision, and is therefore the Dew-dispensation 
token ofG ovenant with his people. 

But in the formei dispensation God gave his 
lirectionas to the manner of apply- 
ing and administering the tok< n of the covenant 
Hut in tin dispensation n<> such specific 

direct n. And no doubt wisely s,>. 

In th of "//;'///" and "faiihj* and 

this would seem entirel) unn Not- 



9<D AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

withstanding this, the question is frequently forced 
upon us, " what is most likely the Scriptural mode 
of applying this token — baptism — to its subject?" 
And the very fact that such a question has been 
raised is "prima facie" evidence that the public 
mind is not very thoroughly settled as to the man- 
ner of applying and administering the new-dis- 
pensation token of the everlasting covenant. We 
therefore offer a few thoughts for reflection to our 
readers. 

A fact worthy of notice is that the true idea and 
significance of the New Testament ordinances, as 
well as their mode of use, are usually found in the 
original ordinance. But it is to be noted that the 
original token of the covenant — circumcision — was 
an act performed upon the person. Hence we 
observe as a fundamental principle : 

i. That the ordinance is administered to the sub- 
ject or person, and not the subject to the ordinance. 
We have found this principle in the original ordi- 
nance. Let us therefore examine the Bible, and 
ascertain whether the principle is in harmony with 
its teaching. If it is, well ; if not, then we must 
abandon this point, and look elsewhere for a proper 
starting point. Let us turn to the prophecy of 
Ezekiel xxxvi. 25-27: "Then will I sprinkle 



THE TOKEN of THK COVENANT. 91 

clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean ; from 
all your fiithiness, and from all your idols, will I 
cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, 
and a new spirit will I put within you ; and I will 
take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I 

ive yon a heart of flesh.* 1 In this passage the 

prophet, looking forward to the new-dispensation 

ribes baptism in almost the very words 

in which we find it so frequently described in the 

Testament Here, just as in the New Testa- 
ment, it is described as baptism both with water 
and the Holy Ghost. " I will sprinkle clean water 
upon you." is baptism with water; and "I will put 

• irit within you," is baptism with the Holy 
But y.»u will notice that in each case the 

ttts are applied to the subject, and not the 
subject to the elements. It declares, " I will 
sprinkle clean water upon you" and "I will put 

my Spirit within you.* 1 

in : The Bible teaches that baptism, as a 
divine ordinance, signifies a cleansing operation — 

leansing and renewing of the soul by the 

linance the simple ad "i 
:a 1 " opus operatum ") po in itself no 

intrinsic value. But it b tenia] 

Symbol Of that which i^ accomplished within. 



92 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

Hence with this presentation of baptism, in the 
Bible, as a purifying ordinance, what do we find 
to be the process of purification ? By applying 
the subject to the elements, or the elements to the 
subjects? In the passage already adduced we have 
a case of cleansing, but not by applying the sub- 
ject to the elements — not by immersion. 

In the book of Numbers (viii. 6, 7) we read : 
" Take the Levites from among the children of 
Israel and cleanse them. And thus shalt thou do 
to cleanse them : Sprinkle clean zvater of purifying 
upon them." How were they purified? By apply- 
ing the Levite to the water or the water to them ? 

Again: Baptism, just as the old-dispensation 
token, is designed to seal to all that believe their 
interest in the covenant. But how do we find this 
covenant confirmed and the seal applied? In Ex- 
odus xxiv. 8, it is written: "And Moses took the 
blood and sprinkled it on the people, and said : 
Behold the blood of the covenant which the Lord 
hath made with you concerning all these words." 
From the context we learn that Moses had a pri- 
vate interview with the Lord, and that he wrote 
the result of their interview in a book. In verse 7 
we read: " And he took the book of the covenant 
and read it in the audience of the people. And 



THE TOKEN Of THE COVENANT. 

they .said. All that the Lord hath said will we do, 
ami be obedient" Here we have a covenant made 
ad his people, and in order to pub- 
licly confirm this covenant, it must be sealed. 
How was this done? "Ami Moses took the blood 
and sprinkled it on the people^ ami said, Behold the 
blood oi the covenant" How was the covenant 
sealed ? Not by applying the subjects to the ele- 
ment — not by immersion. Hence baptism being 

the .seal by which the covenant of grace is sealed 

to all believers, does it not naturally follow that 

the elements of the seal should be applied as 

here specified ? The covenant was then sealed by 

sprinkling the elements upon the people: why not 

commonly used in the Bible as a sym- 

( rhost The baptism of the Holj 

without any exception, presented as ap- 
plied to tin- believer, ami not the believer to the 
Holy ( '.host. In reference to the day of Pentecost 
the prophet Joel (ii. 2*) writes: " And it shall come 

:d, that I will poiir out my Spil it 
all flesh." In the Acts of the Apostles (it 

quotation of the same passage: " 1 

will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh." And we 
d that on tin- d I the disci- 



94 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

pies were applied to or plunged into the Holy 
Ghost; but we do read (Acts ii. 2, 3): "And sud- 
denly there came a sound from heaven as of a 
rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house 
where they were sitting. And there appeared 
unto them cloven tongues as of fire, and it sat 
upon each of them" Here we have the inspired 
description of the baptism of the Holy Ghost, but 
not by applying the subject to the element — not 
by plunging them into the Holy Ghost. 

In Paul's letter to Titus (iii. 5, 6) it is written : 
'■ According to his mercy he hath saved us, by the 
washing of regeneration, and the renewing of 
the Holy Ghost, which is shed on us abundantly 
through Jesus Christ our Saviour." Paul's expe- 
rience was that in the baptism of the Holy Ghost, 
the Holy Ghost was applied to him. We ask, 
therefore, does the Bible teach baptism by the ap- 
plication of the subject to the elements — by im- 
mersion? Nay, verily. But as we find it in the 
original ordinance — applied to the subject — so we 
find it in the subsequent teachings of the Bible. 
Yea more: In the whole plan of salvation man is 
subjective — he is the receiver. All the means and 
elements used are appropriated for and applied to 
man. God appropriates and applies — man re- 



THE TOKEN OF THE COVENANT. 95 

ceives. We have examples of this in the work ol 

. of the Holy Ghost in regeneration, in the 

Lord's Supper, and no less in the token of the 

int — the ordinance of baptism. Bat we pass 

now to notice : 

2. Soma /•'. examples of baptism, hoping 
therefrom to receive still more light on this sub- 
ject. We will commence with the baptism of our 
We find the record of his baptism in the 
I by St Matthew iii. 13-17: "Then conicth 
from Galilee to Jordan unto John to be bap- 
tized of him. But John forbade him, saying : ' I 
have need to be baptized of thee, and contest thou 
to me?' And Jesus answering, said unto him: 
1 .Suffer it to be so now ; for thus it becometfa us to 
fulfill all right Then he suffered him. 

And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up 

of the water ; and lo, a voice from 
{ring: 'This i> my beloved Son, in 
whom I am well pll 

The reader will notice in this record, that 

b John at first modestly declined to baptize 

rsisted in being baptized 

of him, on the ground that "thus it becometh ns 

to fulfill all rij^: • Then John Buffered it 

WSJ not baptized then : - 



96 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

order to introduce a new ordinance — far from that 
— but in order to conform to the law. For to ful- 
fill all righteousness is to fulfill the law. This was 
his purpose in coming, as he himself declares 
(Matt. v. 17, 18): "Think not that I am come to 
destroy the law or the prophets. I am not come 
to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto 
you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one 
tittle shall in no wise pass from the law till all be 
fulfilled." Hence, as stated, he came to fulfill all 
righteousness. 

According to Webster, righteousness means 
" conformity of life to divine law. 11 Hence Jesus 
came and was baptized in conformity to the divine 
law — not simply to fulfill all righteousness — not 
simply the law, but every jot and tittle — every 
part of the divine law. Let us therefore observe 
carefully every step necessary to fulfill the law — 
"all righteousness." 

Jesus came to assume the functions of a High 
Priest. By reference to the fourth chapter of 
Numbers it will be found that the law requires 
"that from thirty years and upwards until fifty 
years old," priests were to officiate in the taber- 
nacle. In the gospel by St. Luke (iii. 23) we 
read : lk And Jesus himself began to be about thirty 



THE TOKEN OF THE COVENANT. 97 

years of age," that is, at his baptism. Hence the 
fir-t point of the law respecting his priesthood is 
fulfilled. He was of lawful age. But having 
awaited a lawful age, the law also required conse- 
cration. The elements used in consecration were 

and oil. As already observed, the manner 
of applying the water under the law in the conse- 
cration service was by sprinkling. ,( Sprinkle 
purifying upon them" (Numb. 
viii. 6, 7 . A person divinely chosen was to apply 
the water by sprinkling it upon them. Now what 
more natural than that John, chosen of God to be 
the forerunner of Christ, in perfect harmony with 
the Jewish economy and in conformity to the law 

:, should "sprinkle clean water of purifica- 
tion' 1 Upon JeSUS as he stood or kneeled at or in 
the water's brink? This was the demand of the 
law. Chri>t had fulfilled the law ill every other 
point SO far as he had -one: why not in this? He 
came to fulfill the law in every jot and tittle, and 

must have fulfilled it in this. But this was 
not all- We n-,i<\ in E&xodus (xxix. 7): "Then 
shalt thou take the anointing oil and pour it upon 

md anoint him." So Jesus, our High 

. in fulfillment of the law, must also be 

anointed. Hen< John had baptized him, 

7 



98 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

as he left the water, "he saw the Spirit of God 
descending like a dove, and lighting upon him;" 
or, as Peter has it, " how God anointed Jesus of 
Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power" 
(Act- x. 38.) Thus far Jesus had fulfilled "all right- 
eousness " — "every jot and tittle of the law." The 
law said, " Sprinkle clean water upon them." Our 
Lord's baptism could not therefore have been im- 
mersion, as that would have been contrary to the 
law. But some one will say, " They went down 
into the water," and " they came up out of the 
water." Yes. But has any one ever read that 
they went under the water? Whoever read that 
in God' 1 s word? 

But let us now look at the baptism of the eunuch 
(Acts viii. 26-38), "And the angel of the Lord 
spake unto Philip, saying, Arise and go toward the 
south, unto the way that goeth down from Jerusa- 
lem unto Gaza, which is desert. And he arose and 
went : and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch 
of great authority under Candace, queen of the 
Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treas- 
ure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, 
was returning, and sitting in his chariot, read 
Esaias the prophet. Then the Spirit said unto 
Philip, Go near and join thyself to this chariot. 



THE TOKEN OF THE COVENANT. 99 

And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read 
the Prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou 
what thou readest? And he said. How can I, ex- 
cept some man should guide me? And he desired 
Philip that he would come up and sit with him. 
* * * * Then Philip opened his mouth and began 
at the same Scripture and preached unto him Jesus. 
And as they went on their way they came unto a 
certain water; and the eunuch said, See, here is 
water, what doth hinder me to be baptized? And 
Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, 
thou mayest And he answered and said, I believe 
that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he com- 
manded the chariot to stand still: and they went 
down both into the water, both Philip and the 
eunuch, and be baptized him." 

:n this narrative we learn that the eunuch 
man of authority. He was do doubt a de- 
vout Jew, who had come t<> Jerusalem t<> worship 

at one of the great annual leasts. At all events we 

find him now on llifl return to Ethiopia, and in 

h of the truth. Philip, according to 

divine direction, went to him, and on invitation 

1 unucfa began t<> explain to him the 

. he had been reading. Jusl in the 

•n, the eunuch interrupts 



•ICO AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

Philip by, "See, here is water; what doth hinder 
me to be baptized ? And Philip said, if thou be- 
lievest with all thy heart thou mayest. And he 
answered and said, I believe that Jesus is the Sou 
of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand 
still: and they went down into the water, and he 
baptized him." 

Let us observe now carefully — 

i. The subject matter of this prophecy. What 
was the eunuch reading about? He had just been 
reading the 52d and 53d chapters of Isaiah, the pre- 
dictions concerning the Messiah, where he found, 
" So shall he sprinkle many nations," etc. * * * * 
"He was led as a sheep to the slaughter," etc. 
* * * "Of whom," enquires the eunuch, "speak- 
eth the prophet this? of himself or another? And 
Philip began at the same Scripture and preached 
unto him Jesus." Let us observe also — 

2. The place where the eunuch was baptized, 
"which 7i f as desert" No river or creek there. 
The water at which it was done is described by 
Eusebius, Jerome, Reland, and even Mr. Lamson 
(Baptist), from personal observation of the place, 
as a fountain boiling up at the foot of a hill and 
absorbed again by the sandy soil from which it 
springs. Not much chance there to immerse any 
one. Observe — 



THE TOKEN OS Till-. CdVKXANT. IOI 

3. The religious training and custom of both 
parties concerned in this baptism. The eunuch 
. Jew and accustomed to the Jewish forms and 
modes of purifying. Philip was not raised or even 
accustomed to immersion, but, on the other hand, 
was well acquainted with all the Jewish modes of 
ecration. 
Now, in view of the fact that Philip explained 
the prophecy to the eunuch — no doubt showing to 
him the full signification of the "sprinkling of 
many nations," showing the moral cleansing 
which baptism always represents, and in connec- 
tion with it the suffering and death of Christ — and 
place being desert," at best but a number of 
small springs <>r pools, both parties bein^ thor- 
oughly accustomed t<> Jewish modes of consecra- 
fall these facts, what is the natural 
concli: to the way in which Philip applied 

iter to the eunuch ? is it reasonable to sup- 
pose that Philip would bury the eunuch in the 
contrary to the law, contrary to Jewish cus- 
tom, contrary and foreign t<> all religious forms 
with which either of them were acquainted, con- 
trary to the prophecy they bad just been studying? 
Is it reasonable to suppose that Philip would in- 
■ sin h an innovation? Is it not more rea* 



102 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

sonable, on the other hand, to suppose that both 
having gone down to the little springs, Philip 
sprinkled "the water of purifying" upon the 
eunuch's head, as he stood or kneeled at or in the 
water? Most certainly this conclusion is not only 
the most natural, but in harmony with all the cir- 
cumstances, as well as with "all law" and "all 
righteousness," which Jesus and his disciples came 
to fulfill. There is an impression abroad that this 
passage presents a positive case of immersion. But 
a candid and unbiased consideration of it presents 
it in a very different light. But in this, as in the 
case of Christ's baptism, we do not read that they 
went under the water. In fact, according to the 
united testimony of the best historians, they could 
not, even if they had felt inclined to have gone 
under the water. It was not deep enough. While 
it is said, "there was much water there," it was 
one of those desert or swampy places where the 
water came bubbling up out of the ground in num- 
berless little springs — "much water there" — and 
yet one writer says, "you could not have buried a 
man there in water in any one place by laying his 
body flat on the ground." There was a continuous 
bubbling up of water and sinking away again into 
the soil around. 



THE TOKEN uH THE COVENANT. IO3 

Let us consider aext the case of Paul's baptism. 
he immersed? We find the record of his 

sm in Acts ix. 10-18: "And there was a 
certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and 
to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And 

id, Behold, I am here, Lord. And the Lord 
said unto him, Arise and _^o into the street which 
is called Straight, and inquire in the house of 
Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus: for, behold, 
he prayetlr. ' * * And Ananias went his way, 
and entered into the house, and putting his hands 
on him said: Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus 
that appeared unto thee in the way as thou earn- 
est, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy 
sioht, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. And 
immediately there fell from his eyes as it had 
. and he received sij^ht forthwith, and 
baptized. And when he had u 

': meat he was strengthened." 
nias found Paul, as directed, in the house of 
And the whole scene is presented as bav- 
in his house. As Ananias entered 

the house he said: "Brother Saul, tlu- Lord hath 
sent me that thou mightest receive thy Bight, and 

ed with th( H y ( rhost And immediately 
there fell from his eyes, as it had been scales, and 



104 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

he received sight forthwith and arose and was bap- 
tized, and when he had received meat he was 
strengthened." Observe here, Paul "arose" — 
"stood up, and was baptized." The Syriac trans- 
lator uses the word "amad" for baptized, which 
primarily signifies to stand, "because," says 
Schindler, "those who were baptized stood." 
According to the narrative Paul received sight, 
was baptized, and took meat — all in the house of 
Judas. There is no record of their leaving the 
house, much less of their going to a river or stream 
without the city. But, says one, "They may 
have had a pool for that purpose about or under 
the house." What a mania for pool-digging must 
have possessed the people of Paul's time, that they 
should even undermine their houses with pools! 
Narrow-minded bigotry can imagine some very 
vain things. How then must Paul have been bap- 
tized? Most certainly not by immersion. With 
him the "'token of the covenant" could not so 
easily, without some divine authority, change in 
its mode of administration. 

Besides this clear case of sprinkling, or pouring, 
we have also those of the jailer and his family 
(Acts xvi. 33), Lydia and her household (Acts xvi. 
15), Cornelius and family (Acts x. 48) — all equally 



THE TOKEN OF THE COVENANT. IO5 

as clear and decisive as to the Scripture mode of 
applying the new dispensation token of the cove- 
nant as that of Paul. But we now call the reader's 
attention: 

3. To the use of tin terms in the ordinance of 
baptism. We do not intend to quibble now about 
the "specific" and "secondary" meanings of 
'bapto" and "baptizo." Too much of that has 
been done already. But we desire to call atten- 
tion to the use of these words as they occur in 
different passages of Scripture. 

The application of the Holy Ghost is spoken of 
as b.ipti>m. It is called the baptism of the Holy 
Ghost Now the same Greek word (baptizo) is 
used to express both the application of the Holy 
(.host and of water. Let us examine a few pas- 
sages of Scripture and see if this is not true. And, 
if true, what bearing will it have on this subject? 
In Matt. (iii. 11J we read: "I indeed baptize 

("baptizo") you with water unto repentance, but 

he th.it cometh after mc is mightier than I, r 

hall baptize ('baptisti') you with the Holy 

(".host and with fire." In Arts (i. 5) it is written: 

John truly baptized (* ebaptisen *) with 
but ye shall be baptized ('baptisthesesthen') 

with tin- Holv Ghost not main days hence. 



Io6 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

In each of these passages the same Greek word 
is used to express the baptism of water and of the 
Holy Ghost. Hence if " baptizo " means to im- 
merse, and nothing else, and if John immersed 
those whom he baptized, then those who were 
baptized with the Holy Ghost and with fire must 
also have been immersed into the Holy Ghost and 
into the fire. The same word is used in both 
cases; and if nothing but immersion is baptism, 
then the day of Pentecost must have been a day 
of immersion into the Holy Ghost and fire. Who 
would be so rude and irreverent as to speak of 
being plunged into the Holy Ghost and the fire from 
heaven ? Such an idea is simply preposterous. 

Moreover, in these passages two baptisms are 
spoken of: "I baptize you with water," is one; 
"he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and 
with fire," is the other. The question now arises, 
Was there any difference in the mode? But there 
could have been no difference, for the reason that 
the same Greek work is used in both cases. If 
there was no difference in the mode, which was the 
real baptism ? We would naturally and properly 
conclude the one which "He" — Christ — shall ad- 
minister. If this be true, then which baptism 
shall determine the mode? Most certainly the 



THE TOKEN OS nih COVENANT. 107 

Teal baptism. That which is emblematical — indi- 
cating that which is done within — must certainly 

its mode from the real. Therefore, it" we de- 
termine the mode of baptism from the real — the 
Holy Ghost — baptism, we cannot adopt immersion 
as the Scriptural mode 0) baptism. For the mode 
of this — Holy Ghost — baptism IS indicated by the 
"sprinkling" and " pouring." The prophet 
Isaiah says dii. 151: "He shall sprinkle many 
is." And " This is that which was spoken by 
Joel the prophet (ii. 28), And it shall come to pass 
afterwards, I will pour out my Spirit upon all 
Therefore the scriptural mode of applying 
the New Testament token of the covenant must be 
that of sprinkling <>r pouring. 

Upon careful examination into the use of these 

terms in the ordinani e of baptism it will be found : 
That ''baptizo" is used in passages where it 

cannot mean immerse^ but must mean something 

else 

That "baptizo" is used interchangeably for 
Ghost baptism, and hence cannot 

mean immerse only. 

Thai l * baptizo" is used synonymously with 

terms which am not and do not mean immerse 

at all. 



IOS AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

(4) That the mode of the real — the divine — 
baptism is indicated in the use of the terms 
"sprinkle " and "pour" 

In view of all these facts respecting the use of 
terms in the ordinance of baptism, we conclude, in 
the language of another: "It may be seriously 
questioned whether the Bible gives any counte- 
nance to immersion as a mode of baptism at all." 

4. Let us consider some figurative passages of 
Scripture which are claimed to refer to the mode of 
baptism. 

Our immersion friends are very ready to resort 
to such passages as Rom. vi. 3-6: "Know ye not, 
that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus 
Christ were baptized into his death ? Therefore 
we are buried with him by baptism into death, that 
like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the 
glory of the Father, even so we also should walk 
in newness of life. For if we have been planted 
together in the likeness of his death, we shall be 
also in the likeness of his resurrection : knowing 
this, that our old man is crucified with him, that 
the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth 
we should not serve sin." 

The first thing to be determined about this pass- 
age is the subject under consideration. What was 



THE TOKEN* OF THE COVENANT. 109 

the subject of Paul's discourse? It was '"salvation 
by grace." In the previous chapter he discussed 
man's depravity, his reconciliation to God through 
Christ by faith, ami his ability to triumph over sin 
by grace. " Where sin abounded, grace did much 
mure abound" I v. 20). But for fear some might 
abuse the doctrine of grace by taking license from 

outinue in sin, he opens the sixth chapter by 
the inquiry: "What shall we say then? Shall we 
continue in sin that -race may abound? And then 
answers most positively, "God forbid! How- 
shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer 
therein?" What now is the subject of discourse? 
We repeat, " salvation by grace" — the reigu of 

U3 the heart. What then has this passage to 
do with the external ordinance of baptism? But 
for the figurative reference the reader would not 

have known that the apostle had the ordinance of 
baptism in mind at all. But in order t<> simplify 
ami s C -t the import of this passage clearly before 
the reader's mind, we will .submit a few inquiries, 

and endeavor t" get answers for them from the 

• ive, 
( 1 ) Wh.it i- Baid in thi • to be cru< ified ? 

and what was the character of the death SDOkl 

What does tin- apostle s tl \ } Y. 6: M Knowing thi.s, 



IIO AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

that our old man is crucified with him (Christ) 
that the body of sin might be destroyed" What is 
it that is dead? "Our old man, the body of sin." 
But for fear that some may yet doubt this answer, 
we will cite the reader to another declaration of 
Paul (Gal. v. 24), "And they that are Christ's have 
crucified the flesh, with the affections and lusts." 
What now is it that dies, that is crucified ? It can- 
not be the natural body, for Paul was yet alive in 
the body, and was writing to men having their live 
bodies. It was not the soul, for the soul was un- 
dergoing an experience that brought life, not 
death. What then was it? Plainly "our old 
man," "the body of sin," our depraved natures. 
This being true, the second part of our inquiry is 
easily answered. The death was spiritual in 
character. 

(2) What is the nature of the burial ? The an- 
swer to this is found in the nature of the death. It 
is customary to bury that which dies. It was not 
the literal, physical body that died. Therefore it 
could not be the physical body that was buried. 

Moreover, we are in the habit, in a general way, 
of grouping like with like in the natural as well as 
the religious life. For example, the body dies and 
we bury it in the earth, because " then shall the 



THE TOKEN OP THE COVENANT. HI 

dust return to the earth as it \va>." (Bed. xii. 
. . the passage above quoted the death spoken 

spiritual ; therefore the burial must be spirit- 
ual also. "We are buried with him (Christ) into 
death." But into what death? Christ's death? 
What !— buried m Christ's death ! Certainly ! 
Christ died for sin. The merits of Christ's death 
me the sepulchre for "our old man," 
"the bod) of sin." The "old" (natural) man has 
been crucified. Here we have a spiritual, but real 
death. In Christ's death we have a spiritual, but 
real sepulchre for the sins of the flesh. Therefore 

ve a natural correspondence in each of the 
successive steps — the death, the burial, and the 

■ >f burial. 

What is tin- nature of the baptism spoken of 
in this 
In out conversion to God, there are three stepsor 
Derations. Pint, we cannot find accept- 
ance with God in our sins. "The body of sin " 
must tir-t be destroyed. Therefore the necessity of 
repentance and faith. Second, on the exercise of 

and faith — the crucifixion <>f " the old 
Ufl a sepulchre for our 

a the merits ><( hi- death. 1 1< n< e, 
■: sins, T ne, the 



112 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

Holy Ghost performs his work of sanctification, 
which the Scriptures call the baptism of the Holy 
Ghost. This is the nature of the baptism in this 
passage. " Therefore we are buried with him by 
baptism into death." 

"Indeed," says one, "any other construction 
than this would do violence to the meaning of this 
passage, and rob it of its very life, and of all its 
beauty and consolation." In the language of the 
venerable Dr. J. A. Seiss (Baptist System Exam- 
ined, page 243, etc.), "In these words we have a 
sublime description of the wonderful efficacy of the 
gospel upon the inner being of believers, and of a 
condition of things resulting from their oneness 
with Christ, which amounts to an actual reproduc- 
tion of his crucifixion, death, burial and resurrec- 
tion in the experiences of their hearts. But, sub- 
lime and spiritual as these Scriptures are, the 
attempt has been made to harness them down as 
the mere dray-horses to drag out of the mire a 
hopeless sectarian cause. * * * According to our 
estimate of the type of Paul's mind and of the con- 
nection and import of these passages, they are the 
words of a man of God laboring to express some 
of the profoundest mysteries of the transforming 
power of the Saviours grace. The baptism of 



THB TOKEN OB Tin-: COVENANT. 113 

which he speaks is neither the baptism of immer- 
sion, DOT affusion, nor of any other mode of per- 
forming an external rite, but in the inner and 
miraculous purification of man's whole moral na- 
ture by incorporation with Jesus Christ. The cru- 
cifixion, death, burial and resurrection to which he 
5, so far from being mere images of immer- 
sion and emersion, are literal terms, denoting reali- 
ties, and pointing not to a figurative but an •actual 
death of every believer to his sins and his real res- 
urrection to newness of life. * * * Let us not be 
carried away, then, as too many have been, by the 
mere sound of a word. The burial of which the 
I a mere figurative, but a lit- 
eral and real burial, an actual extinction of the 
carnal mind, and an actual abstraction and con- 
cealment of it in the deep abyss of eternal sepul- 
ture. There is not one in all of these allusions 
that supports tlie Baptist theory ; no just laws of 

■ill permit them to be thus tied down to 

the si ■• of mere mode. They prove that 

:. • ifii • i< .n, but they do not prove 

that it is immersion, or that immersion has any- 

■ with it." 
A bl '<• in Col. ii. ' 

to which <>ur immersion ti iend 



114 AROUND THE HOME TABLE- 

will suffice: "And ye are complete in him which 
is the Head of all principality and power. In 
whom also ye are circumcised with the circumci- 
sion made without hands, in putting off the body 
of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of 
Christ. Buried with him by baptism, wherein 
also ye are risen with him through the faith of the 
operation of God, who hath raised him from the 
dead. ' ' 

Here we are said to be complete in Christ, "in 
whom also ye are circumcised with the circumci- 
sion made without hands." Now, this cannot be 
the literal ordinance of circumcision. For, 

i. It is said to be a "circumcision made without 
hands. ' ' 

2. It is said to be "the circumcision of Christ." 

What then is the meaning of this passage? Cir- 
cumcision is a mark of separation by which the 
child was set apart from the world. It is here used 
figuratively, denoting the cutting off and separating 
from sin; or, as Paul has it (Col. ii. n): " The putting 
off the body of the sins of the flesh." The body of 
sin being now cut off, bury it in Christ's death, and 
receive the baptism performed without hands, just 
as the circumcision and the whole spiritual opera- 
tion is done. Then, clothed with all the excel- 



THK TOKEN OP THB COVENANT. 1 15 

lencies of Christ's righteousness and the power of 

race and love, we arc indeed "complete in 
him who is the Head of all principality and power" 
(ii. 1 

5, Lei us now review tJw customs of the early 
Christian Church — the Church of the Apostles and 
Church Fathers — and see what was the prevalent 
mode of baptism then. 

It is a Tact worthy of note just here, that if the 
Apostles baptized by immersion, then their imme- 
diate successors, the so-called "Church Fathers," 
naturally follow on in the same way and 
practice the same mode. But every careful and 
candid reader of the history of the early Church, 
will l>e frank to admit that immersion, as a mode 
*. :->in, did not come into public favor and use 
until in the third century. < >n this point Dr. N. 
I.. Ri "I will state an important fact, 

which cannot be disproved, viz. no one can find 
nt of the practice of immersion before 
the third century; and then we find trine immer* 
tnpanied with various superstitions and 

T ufirm the truthfulness of this quotation, 

we cite a few they occur in hi 

•1, who suffer* d mart} rdom in \. 1 1 

- the mode of b.iptism. St. 



Il6 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

Lawrence, his contemporary, baptized Rornanus, a 
soldier, with a pitcher of water. Tertnllian, born 
A. D. 150, speaks of the "aspersion of water" in 
baptism. 

Thus we might continue to multiply names to 
substantiate our position. Hence the conclusion 
of it is that if the Fathers practiced affusion and 
sprinkling, and if immersion did not come into 
use until in the third century, immersion must 
have been an innovation upon the common prac- 
tice. And if sprinkling and affusion or pouring 
was the prevalent custom of the early Church, it 
must have had its origin among the Apostles and 
the sanction of our Lord. Hence if this was the 
prevalent custom of the early Church, it should be 
now. 

With all charity towards our Baptist friends, 
therefore, and with due respect for their honest 
convictions, let us go on in the practice of our 
present mode of baptism, in the settled conviction 
that it is both valid and scriptural, and with the 
assurance that God will "sprinkle the clean water 
of purification " — divine grace — in our hearts; and 
that being baptized into Christ and his death, we 
shall rise triumphant in the forgiveness of sins and 
in newness of life, " meet for the kingdom of 
God." 



CHAPTER V. 

THE CHILDREN OF THE COVENANT. 

(Please Bee Gen. xvii. 11-14 ; Acts ii. 39 ; iii. 25 ; xvi. 33.) 

With die establishment of God's covenant with 
Abraham came an established relation not alone 
between God and his adult people, but with the 
children as well. "For the promise is unto you 
and to your children^ and to all that are afar off." 
Acts ii. ; v ,. " Ye are the children of the prophets, 
and of the covenant which God made with our 
fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed 
shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed." 
:i. 25. It wa> of the children onr Lord said 
(Mark \. 1 1 : "Of such is the kingdom of heaven." 
yes, the kingdom of heaven is composed of the 

children of the covenant, and of all snch as be- 
come like unto them. And yet it is a lamentable 

fact that the subject of infant membership in the 
kingdom of grace — their relation to the covenant 

— is very imperfectly comprehended by thepopu- 
iristian mind ; and the importance of the 
(1x7) 



Il8 AROUND THc HOME TABLE. 

subject is still less keenly realized by the majority 
of Christian parents. 

There is nothing in the home which can take 
the place of the little child. It commands the at- 
tention and affection of all in the family circle. 
This fact is indicative of its importance there. 
Nay more, this very fact is but the external mani- 
festation of the principle enunciated in the words 
of Christ, "Of such is the kingdom of heaven." 
Therefore also has the Apostle declared them to 
be "the children of the covenant." (Acts iii. 25.) 

The great body of the Christian Church believes 
and teaches that children, one or both of whose 
parents, or guardians, or sponsors, are believers in 
Christ, are proper subjects of baptism, and are the 
children of the covenant. And in taking this 
position they are not moved by the respect and 
the affection which their children command, but 
by the teachings and precepts of God's word and 
kingdom. Their convictions are based upon and 
their position is taken : 

1. From the Nature of the Church and of God* 1 s 
Covenant with the Church. 

That there is such a thing as a kingdom of 
grace all Christian believers admit. It is a plan 
or economy of divine operations by which God 



THE CHILDREN OP THE COVENANT. IIQ 

een operating ever since the fonndatiou of 
tlic world, with the evident purpose of redeem- 
ing poor fallen humanity. This kingdom is the 

center ami fundamental principle oi all Provi- 
dence, of all history, and of all Scripture. It be- 
^an with the gracious purposes ami promises of 
It will reach its consummation in the ulti- 
mate completion, glory, and rest of the saints in 
their heavenly state It is a grand and wonderful 
administration, which enters in and goes out from 
Christ in his character of Mediator between God 
and the apostate world. It also comprehends all 
Of the human race, of every age, and of every 
who ire recovered from the fall, and saved 
from the ruins of sin to the joys and honors of 
ultimate salvation. 

n : It is also admitted that this divine plan 
Visible, tangible, and outward existence in 

the world. This, with its signs, agencies, and 

administrations, we are pleased to call " The 

!niti ( hut ih. " 

Christian Church, strictly speaking, com- 

ad includes all such persons who have 

perly inducted into the same bj God's 

singly united with Christ. 

has such a kingdom, and has con- 



120 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

nected it with certain outward ritual signs, all 
who are savingly reached by it, or are members 
of it, unless excluded by specific law, must be 
equally entitled to those ritual signs, and no man 
has any right to withhold them. With these 
premises we proceed. Let it be observed then : 

i. That God, in his covenant with the Church, 
has expressly included children. 

This proposition is generally admitted by all 
Bible students. For in Genesis xvii. 9-14, we have 
this record : "And God said unto Abraham, Thou 
shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou and thy 
seed after thee in their generations. This is my 
covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and 
you and thy seed after thee: Every man-child 
among you shall be circumcised. And ye shall 
circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall 
be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. 
And he that is eight days old shall be circum- 
cised among you, and every man-child in your 
generations, he that is born in the house, or bought 
with money from any stranger, which is not of thy 
seed. He that is born in thy house, and he that is 
bought with thy money, must needs be circum- 
cised. And my covenant shall be in your flesh 
for an everlasting covenant. And the uncircum- 



THE CHILDREN' OF THE COVENANT. 121 

Cised man-child, whose flesh of his foreskin is not 
circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his 
people; he hath broken my covenant." 

In this passage we have distinctly stated three 
tilings : i. That every male child should be cir- 
cumcised, whether their own children or those of 
Strangers — all children under their control must 
: unicised. 2. That circumcision should be 
a token of the covenant between God and the 
Church. For the positive declaration is (verse n): 
"It shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me 
and yon" — not your children only, but "you" in- 
cluding old and young — the Church. Hence the 
reader will observe that this is the only initiatory 
or inductive rite into the Church recognized be- 
tween God and Abraham for cither or both old and 
young. stated that all who were not thus 

inducted by circumcision were denied recognition 
among Cod's people, or membership in his Church. 
Let d particularly God's own declaration 

i} : "And the uncircumcised man-child, 
h of his foreskin is not circumcised, Unit 

soul sliall [>,■ t ut off from /u\ /><■<>/>/<■/'' That soul is not 

includ ovenant, and therefore cannot 

ognized in his Church. urproposi- 

tiou, tint Cod, in his covenant with the Church, 



122 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

has expressly included children, is so clearly set 
forth in his word that every candid reader is com- 
pelled to admit it. 

But methinks I hear some one saying that this 
was only an old-dispensation Church, and that, 
living under the new or Christian dispensation, we 
are no longer under the conditions of the Abra- 
hamic covenant. Hence, we advance from our 
former proposition and offer another : 

2. That the Church is one, and God's covenant 
with the Church is one, under the different dispen- 
sations from Abraham to the end of the world. 

In Genesis xvii. 7, we have God's promise to 
Abraham stated thus : "And I will establish my 
covenant between me and thee and thy seed after 
thee in their generations, for an everlasting cove- 
nant, to be a God unto thee and to thy seed after 
thee." Now, let us read and compare with this 
passage Galatians iii. 15-18, 29: "Though it be 
but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no 
man disannulleth or addeth thereto. Now, to 
Abraham and his seed were the promises made. 
He saith not, and to seeds as of many, but as of 
one, and to thy seed, which is Christ. And this I 
say, that the covenant that was confirmed before 
of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred 



PHE CHILDREN OP THP. COVENANT. I-'J 

and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it 

should make the promise oi none effect. Fur if 
the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of 
promise; but ("rod gave it to Abraham by promise. 

And it' ye be- Christ's, then are ye Abraham's 
I, .md heirs according to the promise.' 1 
These pas bo clear thatweneed scarcely 

call the reader's attention to the .salient points in 
them. But he will, at first reading, see that in 
Genesis God promised Abraham that this covenant 
should be valid " fur his seed in their generations" 
— not one generation, but " their generations " — 
and then adds, " // shall be an everlasting cove- 
MM/." And then, that Paul, in (ialatians, refer- 
ring t<> the same promise, says, " Not to seeds as of 

but as <<: One, and to thy seed, which is 

Christ." And in order to remove all doubt as to 

re meant by " Abraham's seed," he closes the 

ion by asserting, "And if ye" — Christian 

believers — ' " be Christ's, then ale ye Abraham's 

.seed, ami heirs according to promise." Hence, 

! but two dispensations, ami 

ivenant i- asserted in God's word 

to include both these in the promise, we 
the matter with our 
lioui further treatment of :t and pi 
tiui thought : 



124 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

3. That if children were once included by the 
covenant in the Church by express divine com- 
mand, they cannot now be excluded without a 
similar divine command. 

We have seen that the law of God, by the rite 
of circumcision, embraced children, and made 
them members of his kingdom as it then existed. 
This same law has continued on down through 
the Mosaic economy to the time of Christ and his 
Apostles, and was recognized as such by them. 
From the beginning, therefore, God has admitted 
children to his visible kingdom, and commanded 
them to receive the token or seal of their member- 
ship. Now, if some one will please show us when 
and where this law regulating the right of chil- 
dren to membership in God's kingdom has ever 
been revoked, we will surrender our claim without 
a word. Let any one who knows or has ever 
heard of such a revocation in God's word produce 
it if they can. If it has been revoked the record 
can be found and produced. But, strange to say, 
no one has ever pretended to know of any such 
revocation. If then God's law respecting infant 
membership in his kingdom, and the rite or seal 
of the same, has not been revoked, they now sus- 
tain the same relation to God — are under the same 



THE CHILDREN OF THE COVENANT. 125 

divine command — as when the covenant was made, 
and are entitled to the same rite and token of their 
membership. If divine authority does not exclude 
them, then why should we? Prom the nature, 
therefore, of the Church, and of God's covenant 
with the Church, children, one or both of whose 
parents air in covenant relation with the Church, 
are the children of the covenant^ and hence proper 
subjects of baptism. lint we observe: 

II. That tin- teachings and actions of i. 'hrisi indi- 
cate that i. i the little ones as the children 
of the covenant. 

We do n<>t pretend to say that Christ baptized 
any children — he baptized no one. Hut we do 
pretend t<> say that he treated them as children ot 
the household of faith — as children of the cove- 
nant—and therefore as proper subjects of baptism. 
id in Mark x. 13-10, "And they brought 
young children to him, that he should touch them; 

and his d^eiples rebuked those that brought them. 

But when J v it he was much disp leased, 

them, SnlTer little children to conic 

unto me and forbid them not, for of such is the 

God. Verily I say unto yon, whoso- 

ball not receive the kingdom of God as a 

little child he shall not inter therein. And he 



126 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

took them up in his arms, put his hands upon 
them, and blessed them." 

By " the kingdom of God " we are to understand 
God's kingdom of grace; it may be either the 
Church on earth or the Church in heaven. If it 
be the Church on earth, then the case is settled. 
For, as God gave them a token of their member- 
ship, and has never revoked it, they are children 
of the covenant; and if this be true — if members 
of God's kingdom at all — then they have the same 
right to the seal of that membership now as when 
it was first given. But if the Church in heaven be 
meant, then the case is equally clear: For, if 
children are worthy of membership in the Church 
triumphant, they most certainly are worthy of 
membership in the Church militant, also. And if 
children of the covenant at all — if fit subjects for 
membership in either — they are also fit subjects 
for the seal or rite of membership, viz., baptism. 
Moreover, our readers will observe that in this 
passage three things are asserted: 

i. That children are receivers of God's kingdom. 
"Suffer little children to come unto me, and for- 
bid them not, for of such is the kingdom of God." 

2. That they so completely receive the kingdom 
of God as to become models for all receivers of it. 






THE CHILDREN OB THE COVENANT. 1-7 

"Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God 
Utile child, he shall not enter therein." 

5. That adults must receive the kingdom of God 
just as little children do, or they cannot enter into 
it at all. " Whosoever shall not receive the king- 
dom of God as a little child, shall not enter 
therein.' - " Except ye become converted, and 
become flu little children, ye can not enter the 
But how do adults become 
such? "/•• nd be baptized and thou shalt 

Is the condition. But in astonishment 
some will ask, '"Can the little children believe V 
.1 answer let us read Matt, xviii. 6: "But 
ill offend one oj these little ones which 
1 in >n,\ it were better for him that a mill- 
were hanged about his neck, and that he 
Irowned in the depth of the sea." Here our 
they believe. That settles it. Baptise 
them, and you have a full compliance with the 
injunction, " believe and be baptized," and haw a 
right t<. the promise, "thou shalt be saved." 

Hut l.t us follow this thought still a little far- 
ther and inquire, how do children receive the 
God? How did they become the chil- 
' Can any one indeed h 
- rod under the I ! 



128 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

without at the same time being a proper subject 
of baptism ? Nay, further, Can any one receive 
the kingdom of God at all, in any visible or tangi- 
ble way, without being baptized? Such a thing 
would be grossly inconsistent with the entire his- 
tory of God's dealings with his children. As the 
Church was constituted, under the old dispensa- 
tion, the reception of the kingdom of God with all 
its promises was invariably linked with the rite of 
circumcision, and no male infant could be said 
to receive the kingdom of God until circumcised. 
And the reception of the kingdom of God now is 
just as intimately linked with baptism as it was 
then with circumcision. " Except a man be born 
of water and the Spirit he can not enter into the 
kingdom of God." If children of the covenant at 
all, therefore, they must become such by baptism, 
as that is the only initiatory rite. Infant baptism 
is, therfore, most clearly taught by our Lord. 
Who then will gainsay infant baptism ? Who will 
presume to deny the rite or seal to the lambs of his 
flock — the models of God's kingdom — those whom 
Jesus himself took up in his arms and blessed ? 

But again : Our Lord's command to his disci- 
ples was, "Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, 
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of 



Till CHILDREN OP THE COVENANT. 129 

the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." We arc here 
taught whom we are to baptize — " all nations." 
But who are comprehended in "all nations?" 
Certainly all who are enumerated as belonging to 
and composing the nations. Let us refer to a 
familiar illustration: In 1^90 a census of our 
country was taken. Those who took the census 
I through every district, visited every family, 
and took down and counted the name of every 
man, woman and child that was born on or be- 
nd living at twelve o'clock on the first day 
of June, 1890. It mattered not if a child was but 
one hour, or less, old. if then living, it was 
counted as a part of our nation, as well as the man 
Of thi' eai8 and ten. When we arc asked, 

" Who compose our nation ? " we can but answer, 

All now living within the limits of our 
nation, from l: hoarj -headed father or 

: to the youngest babe." Hence, the com- 
mand, " u:. of all these "and baptize 
them." 

the original word | — ma- 

theteusate — means more than simply instruction! 
it means all that it takes to make a Christian. 

Matt. xiii. 52.' Ib.w arc they to be made 

" baptizing them." 
9 



130 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

The children are members of God's kingdom. 
They are disciples. Our Baptist friends admit 
this. If they are disciples then comes the com- 
mand, "baptize them in the name of the Father, 
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." 

III. Baptism is the outward sign or token of our 
internal relation with God. 

That baptism is the only initiatory rite into the 
Christian Church is admitted by all evangelical 
Christians. It is the only sign or badge of mem- 
bership in the Church militant. We have heard 
our Lord's own declaration in regard to the chil- 
dren— "Of such is the kingdom of God." Jesus 
therefore owns children as a part of his kingdom. 
Their internal relation with God is therefore set- 
tled. They are his. They are the " lambs " of his 
"flock." Now, if this is their internal or spiritual 
relation with God, will any one presume to deny 
them the seal or badge of that relation? In the 
language of the venerable Dr. Seiss, " Infants are a 
part of Christ's mystical body. They are an inte- 
gral portion of that humanity for which his medi- 
ation avails. They are redeemed by his blood. 
They are among the purchase of his death. Until 
by unbelief and disobedience they reject him, they_ 
are his. Redemption is officiating for them. The 



THE CHILDREN OF THK COVENANT. 131 

kingdom of God is of them, and others like them. 
If this be not true, there is 110 hope for them. Just 
as surely, then, as God has linked baptism to the 
effectual application of saving grace; to signify and 
seal it; and just as certainly as it is Christ's ap- 
point who are partakers of his 
healing and saving power, it is to be administered 
to infants; and the deepest and most vital constitu- 
tion of Christianity is touched and violated by ex- 
cluding them from it. Indeed, to us there seem- to 
be but this one alternative— that infants are entitled 
; tism, or else they must perish— not that bap- 
axe them, but for the reason that 
anything which incapacitates them for baptism 
incapacitate them for salvation." That 
is to say, that if infants are not fit subjects f OJ 
:n, they certainly cannot be fur salvation. 

declares them members of his 
■m. Then if thus related to God— if chil- 

• nant— why deny them the rite or 
•ion? 

'•■ "t our Lord's treatment of the 
nant, lit us proceed to notice : 
IV. Thai /.-.■ // tfle* also treated them as ckiU 
' in the household baptism 



132 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

We have the record of at least five household 
baptisms in the New Testament. We have the 
record of the jailer of Philippi and his house, in 
Acts xvi. 29-34, as follows: "Then he called for a 
light, and sprang in, and came trembling and fell 
down before Paul and Silas, and brought them 
out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved ? 
And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, 
and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And 
they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to 
all that were in the house. And he took them the 
same hour of the night, and washed their stripes, 
and was baptized, he and all his straightway. 
And when he had brought them into his house, he 
set meat before them and rejoiced, believing in 
God with all his house." 

In verse 31 the jailer was told, "Believe on the 
Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved, and all 
thy house," and, in verse 33, we read, "he was 
baptized, he and all his straightway.' ' Now what 
was " all his house " that was baptized ? Certainly 
every intelligent reader of Scripture will at once 
understand this expression to mean his family, 
including servants and children. But, as Scrip- 
ture is its own best interpreter, we will refer to 
Paul's first letter to Timothy (iii. 4), where we 



THF. CHILDREN OK THE COVENANT. I 33 

read: "A bishop must be blameless, * * * * 

one that ruleth well his own house, having his 
children in subjection with all gravity. " Here we 
have a simple and clear explanation of what is 
meant by " he and all his house." The conclu- 
- inevitable — children were included, if there 
any in the family. Besides this we have the 
records of the baptism of " Lydia and her house " 
\vi. 14, 15); of " Cornelius and his house" 
x. 48); and that of "Crispus with all his 
and many Corinthians " (Acts xviii. 8); and 
"the household of Stephanas" (1 Cor. i. 16). 
Now in all these cases of household baptism, cer- 
tainly no reasonable person will question the pres- 
ence ami baptism of at least some children. And 
if our Lofd'fl inspired apostles treated infants as 
children of the covenant, and baptized them, why 
should not we do likewise? 

But we turn now from the testimony of Cod's 
I to the testimony of history, and observe : 

V. That infant baptism has been the uniform 
the Christian Church /rem the time oj 
i and hu apostles to (he present time. 

Infant baptism Uj n<.t one of the modern innova- 
it can be traced backj neral prac- 

tice in the Church, through every period of history 



134 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

from the present to the time of Christ and his 
apostles. But, inasmuch as the practice of infant 
baptism is not questioned from the fourth century 
on, we will commence there and trace it back. 
We will commence with the testimony of Pelagius. 
He was born about the middle of the fourth cen- 
tury. He says: "I have never heard of even 
any impious heretics who assert that infants ought 
not to be baptized. " Pelagius was a man of recog- 
nized scholarship and learning, and would not 
only have known the facts in the case, but as a 
Christian man could be relied on for the truth. 

We next give the testimony of St. Augustine, 
born A. D. 354. He says: "The whole Church 
practices infant baptism. It was not instituted by 
Councils, but was always in use. This the Church 
has always maintained." 

Origen was born A. D. 184, or about eighty-four 
years after the death of St. John. In his " Hom- 
ily ' ' on the fourth chapter of St. Luke, he says : 
"Infants are baptized for the remission of sins." 
In his commentary on Romans, he says: " For 
this cause it was that the Church received an order 
from the Apostles to give baptism to infants." 
This, also, is very positive testimony from a Chris- 
tian scholar. He is not only a witness to the cur- 



THh CHILDREN OF THh COVENANT. 135 

rent practice ot' infant baptism at that time, but 

asserts that it was "so ordered by the apostles." 
If, therefore, the witness of these men is worth 
anything, it proves that infant baptism, as a prac- 
tice, had its origin Ul apostolic times, and must, 
>re, have been taught and practiced by them. 
Prom the fourth to the eleventh century it is gen- 
erally admitted, even by onr Baptist friends, tO 
have been the common practice of the Church. 
A. I). [120a sect rose up against infant baptism, 

but public sentiment was so strong and general in 

favor of infant baptism that this sect soon disap- 

'.. Then infant baptism was, without any 

lion, the common practice of the Church to 

1522, when another sect arose in opposition to it. 

thstanding the opposition of this sect, 

the great body of the Christian Chnrch has prac- 

tieed infant baptism from that time to the present. 

If. therefore-, infant baptism has been the common 

the Christian Chnrch from the time of 

the a] present time, one of two thin-- 

must follow : 

1. it must have been an innovation upon the 

OS of the apostles by their 

unmed I and successors; or, 

2. It must have eome directly from them by 



I36 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

word and practice as a part of the divine commis- 
sion. For no inferential or optionary custom 
would have brought it into such general and con- 
tinued practice against all opposition. 

If the former, (viz., that infant baptism was ever 
introduced as an innovation upon any former prac- 
tice,) the record of that innovation cannot now be 
found anywhere, either in tradition, sacred or pro- 
fane history. And it would seem passingly strange 
that such an innovation had ever been made, and 
its record given to oblivion forever ! 

But with these considerations we feel that we 
can leave the subject with our readers, confidently 
believing that they will join us in the conviction 
that God would have us receive and treat our 
little ones as children of the covenant — to baptize 
them. 

But we cannot close without presenting to our 
readers a few thoughts on the benefits of baptism 
to children : 

1. By baptism, in the place of circumcision, chil- 
dren are brought into covenant favor with God. 
Circumcision identified the child with the people 
of God. The uncircumcised child was ordered to 
be cut off. But by baptism they are brought into 
covenant favor with God, and hence become heirs 



THH CHILDREN OP THH COVENANT. 137 

of the promise. Fur (Acts li. 3b, 39), " the promise 
is to you and your children.'' 

2. Baptism is a means of regeneration. Paul in 

his letter to Titus (iii. 5) calls it "the washing of 

regeneration." Oui Lord said ( John iii. 5), "Ex- 

I man be born of water and of the Spirit, 

nnot enter the kingdom of God." Baptism 

is n«.t the tiling itself, however — "opus operatum M 

— as taught by some, but it is a mean- to that end. 

m, as the initiatory rite into the Church, 

ies a means of grace. Von receive baptism 

not only in compliance with the divine command, 

50 to obtain its blessings for yourselves. But 

baptism will procure the same blessings for your 

little ones. The divine injunction is, " bring Dp 
the children in the nurture and admonition of the 
Lord." Eph. vi. .\. But how can this be done it 

1 ny them the tneai e? The means 

oi grace are the "nurture" to the child — they are 
the f- soul Here any Christians who 

withhold baptism from their children involve 

themselves not alone in a very j^rave inconsistency, 

but also in a sheer impossibility. As will e\- 

their children to grow up strong and robust 
ally, without eatinj row up in " the 

nurture and admonition of the Lord," without the 



I38 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

means of grace. God commanded Israel to thu* 
consecrate their children to the Lord. This com- 
mand has never been revoked. It is as binding 
therefore upon you, and you are as responsible for 
a proper compliance with it as was Israel of old. 
Let us not forget our covenant obligations to God 
and to our children. O how we prize our children! 
They are God's most precious gifts to us. How we 
labor and toil for their temporal welfare; but shall 
we withhold from them that which will fit them to 
become the joy of our hearts later in life?— to be- 
come an honor to themselves, to their parents, and 
above all an everlasting honor to God, who gave 
them to us? The Lord guide your minds into a 
proper conception of his word on this subject, and 
quicken your hearts by his spirit to do his bidding, 
is the prayer of your humble servant. Amen! 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE SACRAMENT OP THE ALTAR, OR THE LORD'S 
SUFFER. 
The Lord's Supper, like all the other important 
lis or ordinances of the New Testament, has 
cursor in the Old Testament. Our Lord 
came to fulfill all righteousness. Matt iii. 15 ; 
xv. 17, 18. Hence, no institution of the Old Tes- 
tament was overlooked in the institution of ordi- 
imentS in the New. The precur- 
Supper was that of the Passover. 
We find the record of its institution in the P>ook of 

US xii. 21-2*: "Then Moses called for all the 

rael, and raid unto them, Draw out and 

take you a lamb according to your families and kill 

r. And ye shall take a hunch of hys- 

td <lip it in the blood that is in the basin, and 

strike the lintel and the two side DOStS with the 

that is in the basin ; and none of vmi shall go 

out at tin- door of his house until the morning ; 
for the Lord will pass through to smite the I 

and when he seeth the blood upon tin- lintel 



I40 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

and on the two side posts, the Lord will pass over 
the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come 
in unto your houses to smite you. And ye shall 
observe this thing for an ordinance to thee, and to 
thy sons forever. And it shall come to pass when 
ye be come to the land which the Lord will give 
you according as he hath promised, that ye shall 
keep this service." In the Gospel by St. Matthew 
xxvi. 26-28 can be found the record of the institu- 
tion of the Lord's Supper : " And as they were eat- 
ing Jesus took bread and blessed it and brake it 
and gave it to his disciples, and said, Take, eat ; 
this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave 
thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all 
of it ; for this is my blood of the New Testament, 
which is shed for many for the remission of sins. " 
The more closely the reader will study these two 
passages, the more close and intricate the relation 
between them will appear. The more we study 
this subject the more we are impressed with the 
fact that the Old Testament in its very incipiency, 
with all its rites, services and ordinances, is but the 
beginning of an economy from which should issue 
a dispensation of real life and glory — a system 
which, after years of seclusion in the dusty vaults 
of antiquity, should burst forth into real vigor and 



THE SACRAMENT OF THE ALTAR. 141 

power. The Old Testament has been properly 
called " the mother of the New." That which had 
been "within the veil," so long under a system of 
symbols and forms, has at length come forth in a 
system of living and perceptible realities. These 
two di inct in form, are yet so 

interlinked in their fundamental relations as to be 
united. The connecting link is the 
Lord Jesus, whom some have perhaps rightly ad- 
liave been the angel who passed over the 
blood-sprinkled houses of Israel, and who gave the 
specific directions, and who truly and properly 
:ted the Passover, but who after centuries 
ttfl the reality of this symbolical institution, 
viz.: the Lords Supper. Van Oosterzee,* in no- 
ticing this thor. : " The word of Moses and 

the p| in SUCh wise taken Up, fulfilled and 

. th.it even that which is old 

hi-> hands, an entirely new appearance, 

and that which is new appears to be properly only 

the ripened germ of the old. Even when he does 

not immediately adduce the word of prophecy, it is 

vet the cleai mirroi in which he se< ted the 

If and the kingdom of God." Such 

lationa between not 

* T ! . • 



142 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

only these dispensations but also between their 
institutions. 

From the records of the Passover and the Lord's 
Supper several marks of similarity will readily be 
observed. 

1. Both institutions are of divine origin — God 
instituted them both. The necessary preparations 
in each case were made at the hands of men. On 
the one hand Moses made all the preparations, 
killed the lamb, sprinkled the blood, etc. but the 
angel of God passed over in the darkness of the 
night, completed and honored the institution as 
divine; on the other, the disciples "made ready," 
but, likewise, in the silent watches of the night 
Christ, the son of God, to whom was committed all 
power both in heaven and in earth, instituted the 
sacrament of the Lord's Supper. Whether he 
who instituted the Lord's Supper, also in his pre- 
incarnate state instituted the Passover or not, in 
the former as in the latter institution, everything 
points to and clusters about the Lamb of God. He 
who cannot see Jesus in it all, looks as through a 
glass darkly. The former, though considered 
purely symbolical, was none the less divine, only 
that the people of that age were unprepared to be- 
hold the divine in it. 



THK SACRAMENT OF THK AI.TAK. Id} 

2. Both arc atoning institutions. The one is 
symbolically accepted as such; the other is really 
given as such. For in the one (Ex. xii. 231 we 
read: "And when he seeth the blood upon the 
lintel, and on the two side posts, the Lord will 
vcr the dooi and will not suffer the destroyer 
to come in unto your houses to smite you." In the 
other (Matt. xxvi. 28) we read: "For this is my 
blood of the New Testament which is shed for many 
for the remission of sins." In each case a reconcil- 
er atonement (at-one-ment) is effected in the 
ration of the institutions. Israel sprinkled 
the blood upon the lintels and side posts believ- 
ing that God would recognize and accept it ac- 
cording t.> promise. We take the cup and by faith 
drink it a- " the blood of the New Testament which 
u shed for tJi> remission oj tins;* 1 and we have 
I with ( I through our Lord Jesus Christ, not 

■ ■■!»!." But we receiving and act- 
ios word by faith, God by the 

: the mean- accounts it nnto ib for righteOUS- 
: 

Oth institutions wcic similar. 

to be first of all a mem. rial 

to remind them and their 

children how God panned over their houses and 



144 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

spared their first born. "And it shall come to 
pass when your children shall say unto you, What 
mean ye by this service ? that ye shall say, It is the 
sacrifice of the Lord's passover, who passed over 
the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when 
he smote the Egyptians and delivered our houses. 
And the people bowed the head and worshipped." 
Ex. xii. 26, 27. So Christ our "Passover" said 
(Luke xxii. 19), "Thisdo in remembrance of me." 
As the Passover reminded Israel of the great love 
and mercy of God in passing over their houses, 
sparing their first born and delivering them from 
the misery and suffering of Egyptian bondage, so 
Christ would continually remind us of God's in- 
finite love in the gift of his Son, of his suffering in 
our stead, and of his passing over our sins. As 
the blood of the lamb reminded Israel of the 
remission of their sins, and their consequent 
atonement, or, " at-one-ment" with God, so Christ 
our Passover says, "For this is my blood of the 
New Testament which is shed for many for the 
remission of sins. ' ' For Christ's sake God literally 
closes his eyes upon and passes over the hearts in 
the forgiveness of their sins of those who properly 
partake of the Lord's Supper, as he did over the 
houses of those in Egypt who properly sprinkled 






THE SACRAMENT OF THE ALTAR. 145 

the biood upon their lintels. Hence Paul writes 
(1 Cor xi. 24-26-: "This do in remembrance of 
me, for as often as ye cat this bread and drink this 
cup, ye do show the Lord S death till he come.'" 
4. In each of these institutions preparation was 
sary for a proper celebration. The prepara- 
: >r the celebration of the Jewish Passover con- 
tinued one week previous. Otir Lord observed the 
same preparations, and then immediately merged 
the observance of the one into the institution of 
thex Hence the propriety and importance 
of the service bo generally observed and commonly 
known in the Lutheran, German Reformed, Pres- 
byterian and some other churches as the " pnpara- 
" — a time set apart for preparation for 
the worthy celebration of the sacrament of the 

altar. The importance of these services is realized 

in proportion as we appreciate the meeting of the 

in the celebration of his Supper. The high 

I Testament made the most careful 
prepai :liccs and offerings before ill- 

holy of holies — before entering into 

the immediate | rd. The people 

pent a w I in fasting and 

'ion of only and purely ;i 

rial institution. How fitting therefore that 



146 AROUND THE HOME TABLE- 

we should have at least one meeting for medita- 
tion and prayer before presuming to come into the 
presence of the Lord, to eat of his broken body 
and to drink of his shed blood. 

But with these marks of similarity there is one 
feature in the Lord's Supper in which it is the ful- 
fillment of all righteousness — in which Christ 
passed from the symbolical to the real — a feature 
which makes the celebratiou of the Lord's Supper 
very precious to the Lutheran household of faith, 
viz. : the doctrine of The Real Presence of the Body 
and Blood of Christ in the Lord's Supper. And it 
is a matter of some importance that we understand 
the doctrine of the Lord's Supper as the Lutheran 
Church believes it to be set forth in the New Tes- 
tament. We quote here Luther's own statement 
of the real presence in the Lord's Supper (see 
Larger Cat., p. 164): "What then is the Sacra- 
ment of the Altar ? It is the true body and blood 
of Christ our Lord in and with bread and wine, 
commanded through the words of Christ, for us 
Christians to eat and drink. And as we have said 
concerning baptism, that it is not simple water, so 
we also say here, this Sacrament is bread and wine, 
but not mere bread and wine, as taken to the table 
on other occasions, but bread and wine compre- 



THE SACRAMENT OF THE ALTAR. 147 

bended in the word tid connected with it. 

I say, that makes and distinguishes 

this Sacrament, SO that it is not mere bread and 

. but is, and is ia//ed, the body and blood of 

Chn 

Tlie following is a statement of it from the 

, Art. 10. 
44 That t!ie body and blood of Christ are truly 
Dt under the form of bread ami wine, and are 
there communicated t<> those who eat and drink in 
the Lord's Supper. 1 ' 

Dr. Krauth (Conservative Ref., page 599) ampli- 
fies this article thus: " 1. That the true body and 
blood of Christ are the Sacramental objects. 
That the Sacramental objects are truly present in 
the Lord's Supper. 3 That this true presence is 
• the form bread and wine. j. 

That present under this form or species tiny are 

Communicated. 5. That thus communicated they 

i by all communicants.' 1 

the tine body We mean that body in which 

\ vioui was actually incarnate, as opposed to 

bis mystical body, which is the Church. Eph. Laa, 

Some minds bav< nfused also 

tive of Hi* 

he ' ' natural bod) ," and " th< 



148 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

fied body of Christ." While in fact Christ's true 
body, his natural body, and his glorified body are 
one and the same body in identity. The only mat- 
ter to be borne in mind is that the words true and 
natural refer to its essence, while the. word glori- 
fied refers to its condition. The glorification of 
his body neither made it cease to be true nor na- 
tural. That is, it was no more an unreal, ideal or 
imaginary body after its glorification than before. 
It was identically the same body but with a con- 
stant and plenary exercise of glorious properties. 
Hence the doctrine of the Lutheran Church that it 
was the true body which was given for us. For 
Christ as he instituted the Lord's Supper said; 
"This is my body which is given for you." 
"Therefore," says Dr. Krauth, "the sacramental 
object must be his true body. For neither his 
mystical body, nor the Holy Spirit dwelling in his 
body, nor a sign or symbol of his body, nor a 
memorial of his body, nor faith in his body, could 
have been given for us. Therefore the true body 
must have been given for us, and that only can be 
the sacramental object." 

By his true blood we mean that blood which was 
the actual life — the vitality and strength of his 
human body — that "precious blood" wherewith 



THh SACRAMENT OF THE ALTAR 149 

we are bought We believe that it was his true 
blood which was shed tor us lor the remission of 
This is my blood of the 
new testament which is shed for the remission of 
sins." In these words Christ did nut say, This is 
the efficacy of my blood, nor the Holy Spirit unit- 
ing us with his blood, uor yet that it was a sign or 
symbol of His blood, but simply and plainly, 
"This is my blood. " Hence from the plain and 
simple language of him who instituted the 
ment of the Altar we believe in the reedpres- 
of the true body and blood of Christ in the 

per. 
We il<. not believe, however, 

I. That this presence consists of any essential 

the elements of bread and wine into the 

body, : nl and divinity of onr Lord, as 

: the Romish doctrine of transubslantiation. 

• believe that there is any conversion 01 

urination of the whole substance of tin- bread 

and wine into the body and blood of Christ. lint 

lieve that the bread remains bread, and the 

wine remains wine, entirely Unchanged in their 

; that i-, in cverv thing 

m what tiny really are. < >ui 

my trans- 



I50 AROUND THE HOMK TABLE. 

formed body, or "this is my transformed blood." 
But simply "this is my body," "this is my 
blood." Hence the bread in the Lord's Supper 
continues to be real bread, and the wine real wine; 
but both are the means by which the body and 
blood of Christ are conveyed to us. Hence Paul in 
1 Cor. x 16, speaks of the visible elements in the 
holy sacrament as il bread and wine" "The cup 
of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion 
of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, 
is it not the communion of the body of Christ?" 

2 We do not mean that the presence of the 
body and blood of Christ consists in any local or 
physical inclusion in the bread and wine, or a com- 
mingling of them into one mass, such as belong to 
natural bodies. We do not believe in any physical 
or local presence whatever. The bread does not 
coalesce with the body, and the wine with the 
blood, into one substance. There is no assump- 
tion of the elements into the humanity of Christ. 
Theologically this doctrine is called " impana- 
tion," or consubstantiation, a doctrine which the 
Lutheran church has always and stoutly rejected, 
though unjustly charged with holding it In the 
institution Christ did not say, Take, eat, in this 
bread is included my body, or in this cup is inclu- 



THE SACRAMENT OF THE ALTAR. 1 51 

ded 11 No he did nut say that. And al- 

though with the bread and wine the body and 
blood of Christ are communicated to us, we must 
not conceive ti. a that the body and blood 

of Christ are locally enclosed in the elements. 

3. We do not mean that in the Lord's Slipper 
[take of his body and blood by a gross, car- 
nal or natural eating and drinking. Evidently onr 
Lord, when he said, "Take, eat, this is my body, 
* and, this is my blood," did not wish to be 
Understood in a natural, carnal sense, as if hisdis- 
gathered aronnd the table were really to 
attaek his living, natural body, or to drink his 
natural blood, then coursing through his veins. 
No, not that 

.} We do not believe that the presence of Christ 
in th- ists in a mere figurative 

Qtation; that IS, that the bread only repre- 
nifies his body, and that the wine only 
ignifies bis blood. We cannot ac- 
cept tl «n BCVeral considerations: 
This idea is opposed by the demands of all 

Testament which contem- 

I Lamb, who IS tO be ple- 

I in that nature in which he was slain, not 

after the shadowy mode of the old dispensation, 



152 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

but after the true mode of the new — in the New- 
Testament Paschal It is through his human 
nature that Christ is our Paschal Lamb sacrificed; 
and therefore it must be through his human nature 
that Christ our Paschal Lamb is eaten. If it was 
not through his divinity, separate from his human- 
ity, that he was sacrificed upon the cross, it cannot 
be that through his divine nature, separate from 
his humanity, he is given to us at his table. 

(2) This idea is opposed by the demands of the 
type of the Old Testament sacrifices, which were 
not only to be offered to God, but to be partaken of 
by the priests and offerers. That body and blood 
which were offered to the Father, and by him ac- 
cepted, must also be partaken of by those for 
whom they were offered, and the partaking must 
be a true one, as the offering itself was true. But 
in order to be a true partaking there must be a 
true presence. 

(3) This idea is opposed by a proper translation 
of the original words of the institution. Our Lord 
did not say, This represents my body, but in the 
plainest and most simple language possible said 
"This is my body," and "This is my blood." 
Nor does the Greek copulative " eimi" by any 
proper translation mean to "represent," " sig- 






TH1-. SACRAMENT OP THE ALTAR. 153 

nify " or " is a symbol of." We base this declara- 
tion, (i) on the fact that no translation, ancient or 
modern, with any pretension to character, has so 
rendered the word. No one of scholarship has 
ever dared to insert into the text of his translation 
"this Signifies," "represents," or "is a symbol of 

my body. But If "ami" means any or all of 

these, why have not some of onr scholars — onr 
graphers— given the public the benefit of 
their knowledge of this little word ? The fact is, it 
simply means what it has always been translated — 
simply "is," (2) That no impartial dictionary of 
■reek language, whether general or New 
■ns .my snch meaning to the orig- 
inal '• cimi." (3)That DO Standard dictionary of 
• 1 langua as snch a meaning to 

Dglish copulative " is " or "to be." lint it 

simply means what it says Hence the doctrine of 
the Lutheran Church, that the true body and 
blood of Christ are really present in the Lord's 

:. not in any Mich sense as above named, bnt 
//and incomprehensible way. 

while we cannot fully comprehend and ex- 
plain how this is, can we not, in the province 

t truth, and by it, 
without th< 



154 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

cept our Lord's simple statement : " This is my 
body; " "This is my blood?" However, a simple 
illustration from God's word may aid in simplify- 
ing and impressing the idea somewhat. Accord- 
ing to the Gospel by St. John (xv. 1-5) our Lord 
gave us the parable of the vine and the branches, 
which we will use as a practical illustration in this 
case. The vine planted in the ground, and com- 
municating from it to the branches, represents 
Christ, the only begotten of the Father, sent forth 
from him. The branches in living connection or 
communion with the vine, represents all believers 
by faith engrafted into Christ Jesus, the Vine, 
and in living connection or communion with him. 
But now all things are in their proper relations 
and condition for the life in the ground to be 
absorbed through the tiny pores of the roots and 
conveyed through the vine to the branches. The 
operation begins, the life flows ; we see the buds, 
then the leaves, the blossoms, and the ripened 
fruit. Does any one question the real presence, 
in species and essence, of the vine in the branches? 
And can any one fully comprehend, and will he 
attempt a clear and simple explanation of just how 
it all comes about? And as the vine becomes the 
medium of communication, are its visible parts in 



THE SAG&AMBN1 OP THE ALTAR. 155 

anywise changed into something else? In our 
conception of the process of communication of life 
from the ground to the branches, must we think 
of transubstantiation, or consubstantiation ? O, 

Folly ! folly !" would cry our natural phil- 
ters? And yet, that which is communicated 
is the body — it is the very essence which composes 
and constitutes that body — the bod}- of vine and 
branches Precisely so with Christ in the Holy 
Sacrament of the Altar. We can no more fully 
comprehend and explain how he is communicated 
to OS through the medium — the bread and the 
wine — than we can the process in the case of the 
vine and the branches. But does any one question 
the reality in the process in the vine because he 

■ rally comprehend and explain it all? Why 
then raise the question about the real presence of 

Christ in the Lord's Supper? Why not take him 
at his word when he say- : " Take, eat, this is my 
* * "this is my blood?" If we cannot 
fbily comprehend, why not believe? Shall we be 
guilty <»f limiting our faith to the bound of our 

rbid ' 

ther important subject for the consideration 

to the c ommuntcants 

iu tin. imenl of the Ait. a. 



156 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

These I fear are too often underestimated, and 
consequently very improperly appreciated by most 
communicants. True, these benefits vary with the 
faith exercised by the communicants in the recep- 
tion of the elements. Some eat and drink unto 
the fullness of the blessings in Christ Jesus; others 
to their condemnation* "Wherefore whosoever 
shall eat this bread, and drink this cnp of the 
Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and 
blood of the Lord. * * * For he that eateth and 
drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damna- 
tion to himself, not discerning the Lord's body." 
1 Cor. xi. 29, 30. Bnt to be sure in speaking of the 
"benefits " to participants in the Sacrament of the 
Altar we address ourselves to true believers — 
worthy communicants only. To them eternity 
alone can reveal the full measure of these benefits. 
Moreover, let us not forget that we are speaking 
of the benefits derived by a belief in the real pres- 
ence of Christ in the Lord's Supper. While we 
may not be able to comprehend fully the thoughts 
of this very difficult point, we hope at least to 
make clear a few thoughts which lie more nearly 
to the surface. We must bear in mind, however, 
that not only the visible, but also the invisible things 
are real. Hence we cannot look into this with the 



Till-. NT OF THE ALTAR. 1 57 

carnal mind, but alone through a living faith en- 
lightened by God's Word and spirit. The import- 
ance of the doctrine of the real presence of Christ 
in th> Slipper, in order to obtain the bene- 

fits which the Lord would have us receive in tin's 
holy feast, will be, in a measure at least, compre- 
1 from the following illustration : " Suppose 
present yon with a picture of 
age — one whom you esteem very 
highly. It would no doubt awaken in you the 
deepest gratitude of your heart. And as you 
I that picture certain lasting impressions 
would be made But now that this same person- 
ought into your presence, and in- 
1 >f the man, you 
could the real man and converse with 

him, what a different impression it would make 
mind. How the same joy and grat- 
itude would be intensified." Just so in the 
\\\v^ the bread and drinking 
the wine at the Lord's table as a represents : 

of the body and blood of 

• will, indeed make a certain impi 
the mind, but with little, if any more bene- 
fit than that derived from the ordinary means of 
grace. Hut when we (Dine full) believing the 



158 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

words of Christ: il This is my body "— ll this is my 
blood " — believing that as we come to his table we 
come into his real presence, and are there permit- 
ted to commune with him (1 Cor. x. 16), what a 
different impression it will make 1 How our grat- 
itude and joy will intensify ! How the benefits — 
the blessings— will multiply and enlarge ! And 
only he who truly believes in the real presence of 
Christ in the Lord's Supper can and does truly com- 
mune with Christ in the celebration of this Holy 
Sacrament We cannot commune with a symbol. 
But to receive the full measure of the blessings 
of this Holy Sacrament we must come believing 
that we truly commune with Christ our Lord. 

At the institution of this sacrament Christ said 
(Matt, xxvi 28), " For this is my blood of the 
New Testament, which is shed for many for the 
remission of sins." Here " remission of sins ■," is 
the special blessing mentioned. This is indeed 
the most important, as it is the foundation of all 
other special blessings. For it is written (Heb. ix. 
22), " Without the shedding of blood is no remis- 
sion." Not indeed in the sense that there can be 
no remission of sin without having first partici- 
pated at the Lord's table, but that God, having 
sealed his everlasting covenant to all true believ- 



THE sac rami: xr OP THE altar. 159 

ers with Christ's blood, upon all who honor him in 
the celebration of the seal of that covenant he will 
• the special blessings of that seal. On a for- 
mer Matt. xx. 28), our Lord had said, 
Son of man came not to be minis- 
DntO, but to minister, and to give his life a 
H for many.'' This is indeed a significant 
ge "ii the particular thought before us. We 
too often think of the remission of sin only as such 
without connecting with it any inherent bless- 
I I .reck word "lit I run " here used com- 
prehends both the price paid for sin, and the condi- 
All true believers have experienced 
the bl ".his condition — joy and peace un- 
I faith and light Hence we 
need not tarry to develop this thought, but note 
soul nourishment as another important benefit in 

per. Luther, in speaking of the 
the sacrament, calls it "food for the soul 
■.•■Inch noun Jit-> and strengthen* the new man," 
Another baa put it thus: " By baptism we are re- 
•. ed; by the Lord's Supper we 
I nourished nnto eternal life In bap- 
tism faith ii kindled by the Hole Spirit; in the 
use of the confirmed and 

sealed into Christ , by 



l6o AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

the salutary use of the Lord's Supper we receive a 
spiritual increase in this relation. By baptism we 
are received into the divine covenant; by the use 
of the Eucharist we are preserved in it." 

Just how this soul nourishment is communicated 
to us we may not be able to explain to the satisfac- 
tion of all, nor is it necessary to spend any time in 
philosophizing upon the subject. But let a simple 
illustration from nature suffice: The vine through 
its tiny roots absorbs certain acids and gases, 
from the ground, which we call life, and when as- 
similated to its own nature, communicates them to 
the branches. As a consequence these branches 
send forth the little twigs, thence the foliage and 
the buds, and at length we see the cluster of lus- 
cious fruit. How was it done ? Who cares ? All 
that concerns us is that there was life, nourish- 
ment and fruit. So our soul nourishment comes 
through Christ the Vine — the body — unto all who 
truly believe and obey his word, "Take, eat, this 
is my body," * * ''drink ye all of it, for this is my 
blood of the New Testament." ' ; Do this in re- 
membrance of me. " Ah, yes, 

" Here at thy table, Lord, we meet 
to feed on food divine: 
Thv body is the bread w<» pat. 
Thy precious blood the wine." 



THE SACRAMENT OF THE ALTAR. 161 

But we can note but one more of the many 
benefits which might be mentioned, afforded to the 
worthy participant of the Sacrament of the Altar. 

An assimilation of ours to the divine nature oj 
Christ. 

"Like begets like" is a universal law of nature. 
"Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of 
thistl Christ has emphasized the- im- 

portance of the new birth : "Verily, verily, I say 
unto thee except a man be bom again, he can 
ee the kingdom of Cod." (John iii. j.) 
And when Nicodemus failed to comprehend the 
thought, Jesus followed with an explanatory an- 
"Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a 

:d the Spirit, he can not 

enter into the kingdom ofGod." In sh«.rt, he must 

the Spirit, and partake of the things of 

the Spirit before he can enter into his domain 01 

my of his fruit. For, "that which i- born 

Of the fiesh IS flesh," and will bear the fruit of the 

I that which is born of the spirit is 

spirit" and will bring forth the finit of the 

spirit " F<>r !; th to his flesh, shall of 

but he that SOWeth to tin 

ring. ' 

1 1 



l62 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

But the law of assimilation is as universal in fact 
and as absolute in its results as the law of genera- 
tion. By pouring cold water into Hot, or vice 
versa, a medium temperature is secured. How ? 
By the process of assimilation. Food is taken into 
the stomach, after a time is converted into blood, 
and as this goes coursing from the heart to every 
member of the body, nutrition and strength is con- 
veyed. How is it done? By the process of assim- 
ilation. By this same process the desired effect of 
leaven is secured in the dough. Precisely so with 
the work of Christ in our hearts, with only this 
difference: That according to the natural law the 
body which receives the elements assimilates them 
to itself; while according to the law of the Spirit 
the body which receives the elements, the gifts of 
God — the body and blood of Christ — his grace and 
Spirit, by faith, is assimilated unto the nature of 
their giver. Whosoever therefore receives by faith 
the body and blood of Christ in the Sacrament of 
the Altar accedes to an assimilation of his own to 
the divine nature. 

Of the transforming or assimilating power of 
Christ we need not speak at length, therefore, as 
the principle is familiar to all. Suffice it to say, 
however, that the law of assimilation is nowhere 



THE SACRAMENT OF THE ALTAR, 163 

; icuous than in the work of Christ Hence 

our L< er for his disciples, I John xvii: 22, 

"That they may be one, tzr/t as r.r are o>n\ 

J in tlnm, and thou in »/<\ that they may be made 

How was this prayer answered ? 

ss of assimilation — "their lives 

were hid with Christ in God." And as food is hid 

in the stomach, then assimilated to the body, so 
theirs, hid with Christ in God, were assimilated to 

the divine nature. Heme it is also written (Gal. 
I am crucified with Christ : nevertheless 
I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and tin- 
in tin- flesh I live by faith in 
As Christ lived in Paul, SO he 
lives in every true believer; and as Paul realized 
the ass powerof Christ — transforming and 

changing his - own nature, his mind, will, energies 
and all, t«» that of Christ — so in the life of every 
child 1 I And as the Lord's Supper has been 

instituted as one of hut two sacraments, it has be- 
come one of the special means for the assimilation 
the divine nature. We eat and drink 

the body and blood of Christ in the sacrament of 

ith, and find our passions 

Bttbdi th is 

renewed and oui » nriched, oui repen- 



1 64 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

tance is deepened and our faith enlarged, our be- 
setting sins are weakened and our hopes brightened. 
Thus eating and drinking in this holy feast when- 
ever an opportunity is offered, our natures will 
become more and more assimilated to that of the 
divine—we will become more and more "con- 
formed to the image of his Son " (Rom. viii : 29), 
and the mind which was in Christ Jesus will be- 
come more perfect in us, and the life which we now 
live in the flesh will be one of faith in the Son of 
God—our life will be "hid with Christ in God." 

For whom was the Lord's Supper instituted, and 
for whom is the Lord's table now spread, is a ques- 
tion which demands but a brief consideration. 

The little company to whom the body and blood 
of Christ was first administered was composed of 
the apostles, whom Christ had chosen to accom- 
pany him during his earthly ministry. They were 
poor and unlearned men, who loved Christ, but 
were weak alike in faith and knowledge. They 
knew but little of the full meaning of their Master's 
sayings and doings. They knew but little of the 
frailty of their own hearts. They thought they 
were ready to die with Jesus, and yet that very 
night they all forsook him and fled. All this our 
Lord knew perfectly well. And yet he did not 



THE SACRAMENT OF THE ALTAR. 1 65 

deny them the pr;\ the Lord's Supper. 

The lesson is patent to all — The Lord's table is 

the Lord's people. The qualifications 
fur a worthy participation in the Lord's Supper are 
nut necessarily much knowledge, great strength of 
grace, and a rich experience in the divine life. 

indeed desirable qualifications. But a 
communicant may know but little, and be a- a 
child in .spiritual strength, but cannot on that ac- 
count be excluded from the Lord's table. The 
vital question for consideration is, Are you keenly 
sensible of your sin U really love Christ? 

have you publicly professed your faith in him? 
been baptized, and resolved to serve him ? If so, 
then, dear reader, you are entitled to the privileges 
of this holy sacrament, and no one can justly gain- 
s.iy yotU lights. We are indeed t«» guard the 

table carefully against unworthy communi- 
cants. Indeed, no :: OUght to pre- 
sume to come to the Lord's Supper. But on the 

other hand we are to take heed that we do not 
rejei I bom Christ has not rejected. 

as to your 
Condi. this lmly Sacrament we leave 

• ;is chapter. Are you prompt and 

pants whenever an opportunity is 



l66 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

offered, or do you turn away from it? If the lat- 
ter, how can your conduct be justified ? You can- 
not say that it is not a necessary ordinance. For 
to say this is to pour contempt upon Christ him- 
self, and declare our disobedience to his command, 
"Do this in remembrance of me." It will not do 
to say that you feel unworthy to come to the 
Lord's table. To say this is to declare that you 
are unfit to die, and unprepared to meet God. 
This is indeed a precarious condition for a pro- 
fessed child of God to occupy. Preparation for 
the one will prepare for the other. These are sol- 
emn considerations which every non-communi- 
cant should ponder well. 

Dear reader, are you an habitual communicant ? 
If so, in what frame of mind do you come? Do 
you draw near intelligently, humbly and in true 
faith ? Do you really feel your depravity and need 
of Christ ? Do you come really desiring- soul nour- 
ishment and thereby, with the use of the other 
stated means of grace, to fit you for a daily walk 
with God ? Happy indeed is that one who can, 
with a conscience void of offense toward God, give 
an affirmative answer to these questions. To all 
such God will surely give a place at the marriage 
supper in his kingdom. 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE CHRISTIAN BOMB AND ITS POSSIBILITIES. 

(Read Gen. xviii. iy ; Ruth i. 7-1S). 
" Home is the resort 
Of love, of joy, of peace and plenty, where 

Supporting and supported, polished friends 
And dear relations mingle into bliss." 

" Nor need we power or splendor — 
Wide hall or lordly dome ; 
The good, the true, the tender— 
These form the wealth of home." 

Tin-, very word " home" occupies a sacred place 

in every heart. It is held in reverence and sacred 

like by all. It was there God first 

cradled these bodies of flesh; it was there the 

a fond mother, and the affections of a 

kind father ware first lavished Upon US. Home is 

the one place in all this world where Christian 

ICh other. It is there where 

find the focus of mutual confidence; it is 

there when- we tear off the mask of selfish S< 

which the world compels us to wear in self- 



l68 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

defense, and find sweet relief by pouring out the 
unreserved communications of full and confiding 
hearts; it is the one spot above all others where 
expressions of tenderness gush forth and find a 
glad response without any sense of timidity or 
shame. 

Home ! — There is where we received the first 
and most important school of character; it was 
there we imbibed many of the great principles of 
conduct which have made us what we are, either 
for weal or woe, and which will cease to buoy us 
up only as we enter our eternal home, or, if for 
woe, will never cease to oppress and taunt us while 
the ceaseless ages of eternity continue to roll away. 
What a launching place home is ! 

There is an old saying, "manners make the 
man;" and another "mind makes the man;" but 
truer than all is, "home makes the man" For it 
is there the intellect is awakened and receives its 
first important discipline and direction; it is there 
that the heart is first touched by paternal love, and 
its higher sensibilities and purer emotions are in- 
spired and developed and the character of real 
manhood or womanhood brought forth. Samuel 
Smiles has not gone amiss in his statement : 
"From that source" (the home) "be it pure or 



THE CHRISTIAN HOME. 169 

impure, issue principles and maxims that govern 
society. Law itself is but the reflex of home-. 
The tiniest bits of opinion sown in the minds of 
children in private life afterwards issue forth to 
the world, and become its public opinion; for na- 
tions are gathered out of nurseries, and they who 
hold the leading strings of children may even ex- 
reater power than those who wield the 
overnment It is in the order of nature 
that domestic life should be preparatory to social, 
and that the mind and character should be formed 
in the home. Then- the individuals who afterward 
form the society are dealt with in detail, and 
fashioned one by one Prom the family they enter 
ind advance from boyhood to citizenship. 
Thus the home may be regarded as the most influ- 
ential school of civilization." o what sacredness 
is rapt where such power reigns ! 

But in this we have simply considered the 
average home. Hut how the term "Christian" 
magnifies the sacredness of home. How exalted 

tin- Christian OVCI the average home. How the 

thought that the Christ of the home above ha- .1 

in the hearts of the members of the home oil 

earth, and an altar theie, exalts OUr ideas of that 

Ah ' such a home is heaven begun on 



I70 AROUND THE HOME TABLE 

earth. It is of such a home and its possibilities 
we desire to speak in this chapter. In such a home 
it is presumed that 'its head or heads are willing 
" to spend and be spent" in the service of Christ 
their Lord and head. And hence several things 
are necessary to bring that home within its true 
sphere and possibilities : 

The Home Altar. 

The words " home " and " prayer " seem like 
twins — where the one is we almost intuitively look 
for the other. Indeed a prayerless home, if at all 
Christian, can not be otherwise than very defective 
to say the least. They who have daily prayer in 
their homes do well; but they who daily read their 
Bibles and pray over them do better; but best of all 
is the home where the family gather around the 
home altar to hear the word read and taught, and 
then all — young and old, children and servants — 
bow around that altar in prayer and devotion. 
What a scene for angels to witness ! What scene 
can be more lovely on earth; what more like the 
home above? what more pleasing to God than 
that of the Christian home kneeling with one ac- 
cord around the home altar, to hear and unite in 
the fervent prayer to their heavenly Father. ? How 



THI- CHRISTIAN BOMB. I7I 

.sublime the act of those parents wlio thus invoke 
the blessing of God upon their household ! Or 
j rand and commendable the scene of the de- 
voted mother (for too often our homes are headed 
by pious mothers, but impious fathers) gathering 
her little ones around her at the bedside and 
teaching them the privilege of prayer. O what 
precious seed lor those youthful hearts I What a 
safeguard against all the machinations of Satan ! 
And better still where father and mother — all — 
gather at a common altar of prayer. It is that 

which makes home the type of heaven, the dwell- 
L One has well said, "the home 
altar is heaven's threshhold." And happy are 
those children, who at that altar, have been con- 
secrated by a father's blessing, baptized by a 
mother's tear-, and raised to a throne of grace by 

their united prayer, as a free-will offering to God. 

The home that thus honor- Cod with an altar of 

devotion may surely claim the blessings of happi- 

p« :t'. . It has taken the fust 

bl( paradise on earth. 

The benefits of tin- home altar are j^reat in nuni- 

it in their fruits. But l< t us Ik- content 

with a brief resume* of them in ill. 

eminent Christian writer: "The influent 



172 AROUND THE HOME TABLE 

family worship is great, silent, irresistible and 
permanent. Like the calm, deep stream, it moves 
on in silent, but overwhelming power. It strikes 
its root deep into the human heart, and spreads its 
branches wide over the whole being, like the lily 
that bears the tempest, and the Alpine flower that 
leans its cheeks upon the bosom of eternal snows 
—it is exerted amid the wildest storms of life, and 
breathes a softening spell in our bosoms, even 
when a heartless world is playing up the founda- 
tions of sympathy and love. 

" It affords home security and happiness, removes 
family friction, and causes all the complicated 
wheels of the home machinery to move on noise- 
lessly and smoothly. It promotes union and har- 
mony, expunges all selfishness, allays petulent 
feelings and turbulent passions, destroys peevish- 
ness of temper, and makes home intercourse holy 
and delightful. It causes the members to recipro- 
cate each other's affections, hushes the voice of 
recrimination, and exerts a softening and harmon- 
izing influence over each heart. The dew of Her- 
mou falls upon the home where prayer is wont to 
be made. Its members enjoy the good and the 
pleasantness of dwelling together in unity. It 
gives tone and intensity to their affections and 



THE CHRISTIAN SOME. IJ3 

sympathies ; it throws a sunshine around their 

and interests ; it increases their happiness 

and takes away the poignancy of their grief and 

sorrow. It availeth much, therefore, both for time 
and for eternity. Its voice has sent many a poor 
J home to his father's house. Its answer 
•en been, 'This man was born there.' * * * * 
Human nature is there cheeked and moulded by 
the amiable spirit and lovely character of Jesus. 
The mind is expanded, the heart softened, senti- 
ments refined, SUbdued, hopes elevated, 
tile world Cast into the shade, and heaven realized 
as the first prize." This is not an ideal picture, 
but a graphic record of a grand reality. 

// »!, Education, 

Of the nature and importance of home educa- 
tion many Christian families have very inadequate 
ful enough about their 
public school advantages— they are careful enough 
about the " book culture " for their children. But 
of that which i^ of paramount importance — tin 
the mind and heart culture — alas for that ! 

■in- the danger of this neglect in 
the b gave them a Btrict chai 

«ce t<> this home duty, And we can d<> no 



174 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

better than to read and ponder it carefully. (Dent 
vi. $-7.) " Hear, therefore, O Israel, and observe 
to do it ; that it may be well with thee, and that 
ye may increase mightily, as the Lord God of 
thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that 
floweth with milk and honey. Hear, O Israel, the 
Lord our God is one Lord: and thou shalt love the 
Lord thy God with all thine heart and with all thy 
soul, and with all thy might. And these words 
which I command thee this day shall be in Ihine 
heart; and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy 
children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest 
in thine house, and when thou walkest by the 
way, and when thou liest down and when thou 
risest up." 

Here two things are very distinctly stated : 
1. That parents are to comprehend and cherish 
these truths in their own hearts. As usual, we 
must first comprehend and experience that which 
we would impart unto others. Upon this princi- 
ple our Lord said unto his disciples, " Ye are the 
light of the world," and then immediately added, 
" Let your light so shine before men, that they 
may see your good works, and glorify your Father 
which is in heaven" (Matt. v. 14, 16). Let pa- 
rents then first cherish the love of God in their 



THE CHRISTIAN HOME. 175 

own heart- and comprehend the great truth- ol 
word, and they will be prepared for the next 
step 

2. To teach them diligently to their children. 
In this we have home education in the 

st possible terms. And our heavenly Father 
foresaw the necessity of home education 
even lor Israel. The reason which God subse- 
quently gave for having given this injunction to 
brae! was, that they "might not forget the cove- 
nant of the Lord their God, and go a-whoring 
other gods." And how divinely thoughtful 
uch a safeguard about the children of 
Bu1 if important a- a safeguard for them, 
what of its importance in every Christian home in 
this time <>i" wordly wisdom and craft. 

By home education we do not mean the mental 

common or high school, or even 

that oi ate COUISe of study. These are all 

:il t<. success in life But noone of them 
• tke the place of the home H< re the educa- 
an entirely different nature The feel- 
re to be disciplined, the passions restrained, 
worthy motive- are to la- inspired, a profound rev- 
morality and religion and a 

1 <i, bifl word and boUSC awak- 



176 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

ened. All this is comprehended in God's charge 
to Israel. And this is the nature of the education 
God would have every Christian home impart to 
all under the paternal roof. This, I apprehend, 
constituted at least a part of the discipline of the 
home of Abraham, of whom we have the angel's 
testimony as follows: "For I know him, that he 
will command his children and his household after 
him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to 
do justice and judgment " (Gen. xviii. 19). While 
this patriarch of antiquity could not take up the 
"law and the prophets," or even the charge by 
Moses to Israel, and expound them to his house- 
hold, we have the testimony of the angel of his 
paternal discipline and its results. He could teach 
the people the principles and truths of the cove- 
nant into which he had entered with God. He 
could teach them "the way of the Lord," and 
they kept it, and that was enough. 

But closely related to home education is 

Home Authority. 

This is also clearly taught in the testimony of 
the angel just quoted. "For I know him that he 
will command his children and his household after 
him" is a plain and decisive testimony. It means 



THE CHRISTIAN HOME. 177 

just what it says — home authority. And just as 
education and authority arc necessary in good 
civil government, SO in a well regulated Christian 
home. We cannot conceive of civilization with- 
out education. Neither can we conceive of gov- 
ernment without authority. Precisely so in the 
home. But we would not be misunderstood. 
Authority does not mean tyranny. God's govern- 
ment is the highesl example of authority in exist- 
ence, tor he sits in supreme authority. And yet 
the motive power of the divine government is 
God is love." Again we read: "God so 
I that he gave his only begotten 
son, that whosoever believeth in him might not 
. but have everlasting life." And yet we 
Id in the same chapter: " He that believeth 
Hire < ".-id's love and 
authority stand in juxtaposition, each bearing an 
important relation to the other in his kingdom. 

So likewise in the Christian home. Hence we 

"IK- that 

th his rod hatetfa his son. hut he that lovetfa 

tenetfa him betimes." "What I Punish 

the < fa 1 how can I do that ! 

ets older," 
I bear some 01 ml Bui what an id< 



I 7 8 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

love such people have ! God bases chastisement 
on love. "He that spareih his rod hateth his son, 
but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes/' 
Because they love the child the true parents would 
chastise and make it worthy of their love. Hence 
we read (Prov. xix. 18): "Chasten thy son while 
there is hope, and let not thy soul spare his cry- 
in-." And (xxii. 6): "Train up a child in the 
way he should go, and when he is old he will not 
depart from it." "The rod and reproof give 
wisdom, but a child left to himself bringeth his 
mother to shame." (Prov. xxix. 15, 17)- A11 
these passages mean authority in the home. But 
the basis of it is love. 

Moreover, God would make us responsible for 
the exercise of this home authority. Of this we 
have an example in the house of Eli: "Because 
his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained 
them not," severe judgments came upon his house 
(see 1 Sam., 2d and 3d chaps.). Anothei illustri- 
ous example of this is found in the house of 
David. How David's heart was bowed with grief 
over the treachery and death of his son Absalom. 
And this is the divine plan, the fundamental prin- 
ciple of which we have given in the epistle to 
the Hebrews xii. 6: "Whom the Lord loveth he 



THE christian BOMB. 179 

chasteneth and every son whom he re- 

v." Hence we rcpc.it, Cod's Kingdom is one 
of authority — of chastisement ; but all grounded 
in love. But the Christian home is only I 
kingdom in miniature, preparatory for the home 
above. Hence, the principles and motives of our 
enly Father in his great family in the earth 
should also Income the ruling principles and 
motives in the individual family— the Christian 
home. 

But cue of the baneful features of the majority 

homes isa misconception of the needs of 

hild in order to develop the principles of true 

man or womanhood. This manifests itself in one 

ither — 

1. The heads of the family are woefully ignorant 

th the letter and the spirit ofGod's law; or 

.:. They cherish the idea that Cud has given 

them children to be a law unto themselves until 

hall have come to years ol maturity, when at 

lomechosea time, with the lightnings and thun- 

': will tome in all the majesty 

and •■ owei and convert them from 

own to the way of God. < u, ou the other 

hand, that he will come in all the plentitude of his 

lin them — almost compel 



180 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

them— to give their hearts to him. We would 
cast no reflection upon any of the means of grace 
and salvation. But surely this is not God's way of 
populating heaven. For "the law of the Lord is 
perfect, converting the soul ; the testimony of the 
Lord is sure, making wise the simple." Hence its 
need of application in the home. But, 

3. A still larger class are those who care more 
about silver and gold, for the worldly coffers of 
their children, than for a title for them to the 
treasures in the kingdom of God. They are more 
concerned about the broad acres and their huts in 
this world than for mansions in the city of God. 
They have a greater anxiety about bread for 
their children's stomachs than about the bread of 
heaven for their souls. God pity such homes ! 
What these homes need is home education, culture 
of mind and heart— and home authority. 

But I would, if possible, impress more indelibly 
upon the reader's mind these thoughts by quoting 
a paragraph from a paper read before the Chau- 
tauqua Assembly of New York, in 1889, by Mrs. 
Emily Huntington Miller: "It need hardly be 
said that the ideal home is religious. Its funda- 
mental idea being development, it cannot ignore 
the spiritual nature, which is a breath to the clay 



THE christian- BOMB. 181 

of all else. Its very authority and sanctions are 
divine, and it shares with the Eternal, his fatherly 
function of protecting the immature soul that has 
DOt yet learned to choose the good and refuse the 
evil. We shall never properl) estimate the im- 
portance of fundamental religious work in the 
home until the Protestant church takes a lesson 
from the Roman Catholic, and claims every child 
of Christian parentage as an actual, not possible 

member — to be watched over and kept in the 
not lo>*i and. then brought hack. As well abandon 
your child to indulge appetites from habits, and 
itions that will plunge him into 
physical ruin, and then turn him over to the phy- 
sician ible healing and redemption, as 
•die chances Of laying the foundation stones 
r in the home, and trust to some chance 

revivalist to do by-and-by your work for you." 

key-note of the above is culture in the 
-culture of mind and heart. And in the 

iplishment of this education and authority 

But with this brief consideration of some of the 
print:; the Christian home let OS COn- 



l82 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

The Possibilities of the Christian Home. 
The term possibility comprehends far more per- 
haps than some may at first suspect. But we use 
the term for a purpose. The Christian life is rep- 
resented in God's word as a growth, inciting all 
our capacities and powers to vigorous action, and, 
by the careful use of all the means of grace, stimu- 
late new germs and aspirations, and awake dormant 
ones— and to elicit all the faculties and the strength 
of the whole man. Hence the divine command 
"strive to enter in at the straight gate ;" and Paul 
(Phil. iii. 14) "I press toward the mark for the 
prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus;" 
and (Heb. xii. 1) "let us run with patience the 
race that is set before us ;" and (2 Tim. iv. 7.) "I 
have fought a good fight." 

The prayerful student of these passages will 
read far more in them than is usually practiced by 
many so-called Christian people. And one is fre- 
quently impelled to wonder whether of those who 
are so content to be moved leisurely along by the 
press of the throng, and some, who instead of 
running, are content to walk, and even sit and 
slumber by the way, are not in very great danger 
of dropping to the rear so far as to lose sight of the 
company, and of God's highway, and left to their 



THE CHRISTIAN HOME. 183 

ease <>n the slopes before Sinai's height 
reached. Some of them, at least, will be found 
napping in Bunyan*s enchanted ground, and might 
do well to study the pilgrim's song lor such. 

•• Wh< • sleepy grow, let them come hither, 

And hear how these two pilgrims talk together: 

let them learn of them, in any wise, 

Thai to keep ope their drowsy slumbering eyes, 

. if it be managed well, 
Keeps thc-tn awake, and that in spite of hell." 

" Wherefore, kt us not sleep as do others, but 
let us watch and be sober." 1 1 Thess. v. 6.) 

rder in the journey of life is not by 

Ik, but by the rustling march whose 

speed Is limited only by human possibilities. The 

ion is not therefore with how little may I be 

at, but uhiit is it possible for me /<> dot 

Which is the highest round in life's ladder within 

} This is the thought gleaned from be- 

d the line word. An<l with this 

thought in mind the possibilities of the Christian 

■nii'y in our view. But while 

• form adequate ons of the possi- 

bilities of the tna- Christian home yet a few obser- 

D to a 



184 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

higher standard. Let it be noted therefore that it 
is possible for every Christian home 

i. To bring its children into a thorough ac- 
quaintance with the saving truths of the Bible. 
We have already endeavored to impress the reader's 
mind with the untold work to be accomplished in 
the mental culture, the formation of useful habits 
and of noble characters. From this we need rise 
but one step higher and, with the "law of God" 
as the great law of life, we add to the culture for 
the mind the culture of the heart, and we have 
culture for the whole man, the heart culture lend- 
ing lustre to that of the mind. For the culture of 
the divine in man is to the rest of the man what 
the sun is to the world of nature. Here then we 
have true culture — a culture which inspires 
every energ) and brightens every hope of man. 
For the law of God, as the only perfect law, is the 
only foundation for true culture and right living. 
It being the divine law applied to the divine 
image in man, mutual chords are touched, and 
corresponding sensibilities are awakened. Hence, 
God's charge to Moses (Deut. vi. 3-7), " Hear, 
therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it that it may 
be well with thee. * * * And thou shalt love the 
Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all 



TH1-: CHRISTIAN SOME. 185 

thy soul, ami with all thy might And these 
. which I command thee this day, shall be in 
thine hearty and thou shah teach them diligently 
unto thy children." God, by means of his word, 
would thus touch the hearts of his people, and call 
lorth the divine image in which they were created. 
And in that image to rise above the lower 
standard of Egyptian life. And neither the roll of 
centuries nor the change of dispensations have 
wrought any material change in the "modus ope- 
randi " of the divine economy. The divine plan 
pulating heaven is by instruction and culture 
from tin cradle to the grave. In view of this fact, 
therefore, comes the injunction with renewed 
tO all parents, "Train Up a child in the way 
md to all Christians. " hut -row in 
a\u\ in the knowledge of our Lord and Sav- 
iour Jesus Christ" It is culture and growth all 
the while. lint the important time to begin this 
simultaneous with his career iii life. 
born with tin. germ of every capacity ever 

::i him. God creates the perfect ehild 
row the perfect man. Ileiuv the 

pnient must begin with all parts in 
multaneouslj . The reason for 

ObviotlS. Por one has well said. " Man's 



l86 AROUND THF, HOME TABLE. 

first impressions are the most lasting." He comes 
into the world perfectly helpless, and absolutely 
dependent upon his parents or others for nurture 
and culture. His very condition inspires confi- 
dence in those who care for him. And this is the 
opportune time for seed-sowing and culture. And 
however crude and meagre this process may at 
first seem, it is education nevertheless. For this 
is God's plan. There is a time for sowing and 
a time for reaping. After the sowing the seed 
germinates and we have " first the blade, then the 
ear, after that the full corn in the ear." First, the 
seed planted, then cultivated, then the harvest. 
Tims God would have us take advantage of these 
opportunities from the very first. Thus mighty 
fortresses are reared about the children against the 
wiles and allurements of the prince of darkness. 
And let us not forget the fact that baptized chil- 
dren are already members of the Church, and are 
to be instructed accordingly. They are to be ad- 
dressed, not as heathen, but as young Christians, 
and are to be taught and nurtured accordingly. 
Neither can the obligations of Christian parents be 
passed over to the Church, but they must be met 
and discharged by them toward their children in 
the home. Their children are to be taught the 



THF. CHRISTIAN' BOMB. 

need of regeneration, but their baptism is to be 
kept before their minds as the beginning of this 

. and then by constant parental culture and 
nurture they are u brought up in the nurture and 
admonition of the Lord.* 1 Children should be 
early brought to Christ in baptism, and then 

arefully and prayerfully taught the way of 

the L<»rd, and the results will he assured. 
Aii anxious mother once asked an eminent 
man: "Sir, when shall I begin the educa- 
tion of my four-year-old child?" "Madam," he 
gravely answered, " if you have not already be- 
gun, you have lost all those four years." Child- 
time — nay, it is our time as well, 
law of life. This law once thor- 
l) apprehended by the children, will seldom 
p upon them. 
It i-> wi 11 to note just lure also that faith is in 

rare the fruit of culture. We are told in 

: , that " it is the gift of God." T>u,\ 

hut he ^ives it through his word Culture the 

ami hearts of the lambs of his flock with 

the word, .uid the gl llized as one of 

I thus the WOrd becomes tile pnwi 1 

Ivation. Whether or not all the 

children thus nurtui ultured will become 



l88 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

savingly acquainted with the Christ of those truths 
is another matter. But suffice it to say, that in any 
case where a saving faith is not begotten, a more 
symmetrical life will be developed, better habits 
will be formed and a more sturdy moral character 
will be the result. Whether or not all the children 
become Christians, it is possible to acquaint them 
with the great fundamental truths of salvation. 

2. It is possible for the Christian home to bar 
her gates forever against Catholicism and infidel- 
ity. These are two potent factors in the conglom- 
erated mass of American citizenship. And the 
former is the prolific source of the latter. While 
it is true that there is a mighty current of emigra- 
tion from foreign lands, the very depths of which 
are so cloudy and turbid with the "isms" of the 
"Fatherland" as to seriously affect the spiritual 
light and life of our Christian land, and just as 
seriously affect the standard and dignity of Ameri- 
can citizenship. Yet, it is possible for the Chris- 
tian home and Church, under divine guidance, 
and provided with the gospel armor (Eph. vi. 10- 
17) to send forth such a volume of the pure and 
wholesome waters of eternal life as to thoroughly 
filter and purify the whole stream, and issue into 
the great sea of life streams of "pure and unde- 
fined relieion." 



THB CHRISTIAN HOME. 189 

The strength and future hope of Cathol- 

icism is in the instruction of her children. And 
what is an acknowledged fact in the Catholic must 
have equal weight in the Christian home and 

Church. It 4s an old and trite savin-, " knowl- 
wer." But if this is true of mere intel- 
! culture, or, if a course of study in & 
:n, and in the traditions of Rome has given 
licism such strength, then what of a sancti- 
fied knowledge? What of the power for good in 
the true — tlie mind and heart culture — of the chil- 
dren in the Christian homes of our land? The 
inline:. h a course will he immeasurable, 

and it is | For it to lorn 1 such a wave of 

thought and faith as to sweep before it the 

:it Strength of the silly things of Rome, and 

oily of infidelity. Their turbid tides 

into our land; hut, 

like the tidal waves of the -real sea-, oulv to roll 

. purified by their action. And to their 

rin they will find a personal application 

in the lin< fellow: 

■Ills 

■ 

Ami lifts 1 



I90 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

3. It is possible for every Christian family by, 
their regular attendance upon all the services of 
the sanctuary, to direct the feet of their children 
in the same way, and cause them to form like 
habits. The influence of example is strangely 
powerful. As a Christian people we do not fully 
appreciate, nay, we can not fully understand how 
example has acquired and continues to wield such 
untold influence over the minds of the young. 
But the fact nevertheless remains. One has well 
said, "Men are by nature imitators, and all per- 
sons are more or less impressed by the speech, the 
manners, and the very habits of thinking of their 
companions." "Is example nothing?" asked 
Burke, and promptly answered, "It is every- 
thing." Example is the school of mankind, and 
they will learn at no other." Burke's grand 
motto, which he wrote for the tablet of the Mar- 
quis of Rockingham is worth repeating: "Remem- 
ber, resemble, persevere." Unconsciously, but 
inevitably we generate our thoughts, mould our 
habits and season our very lives from what we see 
and hear. Upon this principle some have leaped 
to the rash conclusion that " circumstances make 
the man." Rash and false as this conclusion is, 
the examples in daily life, the language heard, and 



THE CHRISTIAN H« 'ME, [QI 

the general influences which arc brought to hear 

on the mind — all of which combined form the cir- 
inces in liiV — arc potent factors in determin- 
ing man's sphere in life. And this is true in the 
Christian home as it can be no where else. There, 
e, the children with unshaken confi- 
dence regard the words ami acts of parents as 
and "Gospel." With them, "example is 
In view of this fact, God has so 
ly emphasized in his word the conduct of 
parents in the presence of the children. And a 
mistake made by too main- parents is that the Sab- 
bath-schoo] i- for the children only, and that the 
church services are for the adults only. Thus a 
reated between the church and Snnday- 

■ '., and impressed with these notions too many 

■v" from the Sab- 

bath-school. And I am not Mire but that some of 

the cl< this idea by discouraging the 

attend i bildren at the sanctuary services, 

and of not giving proper encouragement to the 

f.ithei ithers to attend the Suuday-school. 

But this i> not the divine plan. With God the 

company i d "f ".1A//, women and <////- 

I ■ . the priest brought the law 

ion both of nu n and women, 



I92 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

and all that could hear with understanding" (Ne- 
hemiah viii. 2). "Now when Ezra had prayed 
and when he had confessed, weeping and casting 
himself down before the house of God, there as- 
sembled unto him a very great congregation of 
men and women and children" etc. (Ezra x. 1). 
When our Lord fed the multitude we are told 
(Matt. xiv. 21) that there were about five thousand, 
beside " women and children." He also called the 
little children from the throng and took them up 
in his arms and blessed them. Then let us, dear 
readers, no longer err as do others, but let us go 
with the children to the Sabbath-school and show 
them by our examples that man never grows too 
old there to study God's word, and there learn 
more about the "old, old story of Jesus and his 
love."'' And then have them go with us into the 
church services, and impress upon their minds 
that they too are a part of God's fold, and are not 
too young to hear his word preached. The results 
of such a course of training among the young will 
be surprisingly wonderful. Having once become 
habitual attendants of the Sunday-school and 
church services, they have at least been secured 
against overt vice or crime, and led into the high- 
way of good citizenship, if not into the highway of 
our God. And the continued droppings from the 



THE CHRISTIAN HOME. 193 

sacred altar of God will sooner or later find ac- 
cess to their hearts, and the constraining love of 
Christ will woo the major part of them into his 
embrace. Ami what a blessed work for the Chris- 
tian home this will be! What blessed fruits to 
gather some of them, perhaps gathered just as 
they close their records of time to launch away 

ternity. The bread east upon the waters has 
returned after many days, filled the hearts of men 
with joy, and caused the courts above to resound 
with th joy and praise by the angels. 

But the possibilities of such a home cannot be 
thus limited within the home. But, like the light 
in the darkness, its rays radiate in every possible 
direction. And the light thus dawning among 

hildren will continue to rise higher and 

I like the sun to grow in brilliancy and 
warmth, till it has reached its meridian height 
among the yet Unborn generations, yielding a 

: heaven in the earthly home, and cause 
the earth to enjoy the glorious 

: her untold possibilities. The [/>rd 

anew the w . awake to 

activity his dormant and talents, a: 

the chariot winds of blessing and joy to rolling 
. Amen ! 

13 



CHAPTER VIII. 

THE RELATIONS OF THE CHRISTIAN HOME TO THE 
CHURCH. 

There is a dangerous tendency in the popular 
mind at present which depreciates the exalted idea 
which God gives us of both the Church and the 
home. I speak of this tendency as dangerous be- 
cause of its source — it emanates directly from the 
wicked one. But the divine idea of the Church 
has been elucidated by the Apostle Paul. Speak- 
ing of believers — the constituency of the Church — 
he says (Rom. xii. 5): " So we being many are one 
body in Christ, and every one members in particu- 
lar." And again (1 Cor. xii. 12-27): "For as the 
body is one and hath many members, and all the 
members * * * * are one body: so also is Christ. 
For by one spirit are we all baptized into one 
body. * * * * Now, ye are the body of Christ." 
And in Col. i. 18, "And he is the head of the 
body the Church." Ah! sacred, divine (!) concep- 
tion of the Church! What a thought for Chris- 
tians! The Church — the body of Christ with you 
(194) 



RELATIONS OP BOMB TO THB CHURCH. 195 

and me, aye, and all the redeemed members of it 

— and God's only Son the head! Christ, the Son 

of God its brain and soul — it> living head — and we 

Aye, verily, "your lives are hid 

with Christ in God." What a family the Chnreh 

I :-! No wonder that our Lord would assure 

And the gates of hell shall not prevail against 

Church." Ah, no! 

•• In e v e ry condition — in sickness, in health, 
In j« ivertj 's vale, or abounding in wealth, 
At borne and abroad, on the land, "ii the 

■ demand, bo thy succor shall be. 

not, I am with thee; o, be not dismayed; 
1 > I am thy God, ami will still give thee aid; 
I'll strengthen thee, keep thee, and cause the*.- 1«> Btand, 

/ phci j.'e-ous, omnipotent hand. 

'• The soul that on JeSUS hath UanM fur repose, 

1 not desert A 
though all hell should endeavor t<> shake, 

/'// ti ' ./Xv." 

with this thought, Timothy Dwight, 
than a century ago (A D. 1 800) gave utterance 
• md old hymn: 

■• 1 love thy kingdom, Lord 

The Chnreh <>ur 
With 



I 9 6 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

" I love thy Church, O God; 
Her walls before thee stand, 
Dear as the apple of thine eye, 
And graven on thy hand. 

" Beyond my highest joy 

I prize her heavenly ways, 
Her sweet communion, solemn vows, 
Her hymns of love aud praise. 

«' Jesus, thou Friend divine, 
Our Saviour and our king, 
Thy hand from every snare and foe 
Shall great deliverance bring. 

" Sure as thy truth shall last, 
To Zion shall be given 
The brightest glories earth can yield, 
And brighter bliss of heaven." 

Such are the sources of inspiration and aspira- 
tion which move the society of people known as 
"the Christian Church." It was of such John 
(Rev. xxi. 3) "heard a great voice out of heaven 
saying, Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, 
and he will dwell with them, and they shall be 
his people, and God Himself shall be with them, 
and be their God." O blessed, exalted, divine 
idea of the Church! How can we depreciate and 
secularize it! But rather with reverential awe let 
us remember as we enter His sanctuary that "The 



RELATIONS OF HOME TO THE CHURCH. IOJ 

Lord is in His holy temple, let all the earth keep 
silence before him." Hab. ii. 20. 

Let us not forget then that the Church, like the 
home is a divine institution* And that their mis- 
like is the amelioration and salvation of the 
world. Hence her divine Head gave commission 
to hi- therefore and make dis- 

|] nations.' 1 The true, the divine, idea 
therefore of the church is a society of individuals 
among and in whom God dwells, and whose head 
ami body is Christ — in short, it is a concentration 
of sanctified ingenuity and strength for the purpose 
king nun more like Christ, earth more like 
converting "the kingdoms of this 
into the kingdom of our Lord and his 
Chri 

ther matters so in this, the divine 
tie Chinch is higher and more com- 
prehensive than the human. "For my thoughts 
::r thoughts, neither are your ways my 
[sa lv. S, o). And with 
: the Christian Church before us let us 
three things: 
1. That a an institution the Church is divine. 
Our ].■ I i:rch." In tl: 

epistli itten : " Ye 



I98 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual 
house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacri- 
fice, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ." The 
institution with its operations is divine, and its 
true constituency desire to think, and speak, and 
act, only with the divine mind (Phil. ii. 5), and in 
accord with the divine will. 

2. That in its constitution the Church is com- 
posed of all believers and their baptized children. 
" For the promise is unto you and your children." 
(Acts ii. 39.) Christ is "the head," "the chief 
corner-stone in Zion," "the body;" but we are 
"the members in particular." Christ is the 
"vine," and the whole family of God are "the 
branches." 

3. That all our conceptions of God and his ways 
must emanate from God by his operation through 
and by the appointed means of grace in the 
Church. By the reading and preaching of the 
word new thoughts are conceived and old ones are 
quickened and purified; and by the operations of 
the Holy Ghost the appointed means of grace are 
refreshed and sanctified. And hence what the 
material home is to the natural man in his social 
and intellectual culture, the Church is to the 
spiritual man in his higher developments. 



RELATIONS 01 BOMB TO THE CHURCH. 199 

But we have ROW before our minds two institu- 
tions — both sacred to memory, important factors 
in life's career and alike of divine origin. What 
relations du they sustain to each other? This is a 
vital question, and one which should claim the 
reader's prayerful attention. But in view of the 
peculiar province and prerogatives vested in the 
Christian home by our heavenly Father; and, in 
of the conspicuous and important place given 
the Christian Church in the plan of redemption by 
the Great Hu.u\ of the Church, the relation is 
vital, and there can be but one answer to the 
question: the Christian home, by divine 
arrangement, is designed to be the stepping-stone 
to the Church. God has plainly designed the home 
«ne the nursery in which the " lambs of his 
to be led with the "sincere milk, of the 
Th( parochial School, the catechetical 

and the Sunday-school, all occupy important 
church-work. But uo i 

them, nor all of them combined, can become any 

adequate substitute for the home. Cod has wisely 

given that, like the Church, a place peculiarly its 

own. It is sometimes Baid that "the Sunday- 

I i- the 1 the Church." This may 

Ix: true only in a very limited sense; that is, only 



200 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

in so far as it reaches a class of children in whose 
homes there is spiritual destitution — where, it 
may be, there is no Bible, or where, at most, the 
Christ of the Bible has not been embraced by 
faith. 

The original design of the Sunday-school was 
to reach "the ragamuffins of the street." Robert 
Raikes once said, "Every home which has Christ 
in it has a Sunday-school in it also." (Would 
God this were so now!) He therefore instituted 
the public Sunday-school to reach those children 
who had none at home. But he had no thought 
of attempting a substitute for the duties and privi- 
leges of the Christian home. But it has been sug- 
gested that the reason why so many parents and 
children of professedly Christian homes are not in 
the public Sunday-school is that they are engaged 
in the private or home Sunday-school. Supremely 
selfish as this might seem, how I wish that this 
were even so! But alas! it is not so. But I re- 
peat, the primitive design of the Sunday-school 
was to reach the children of the streets with the 
word of God — to feed the spiritually destitute with 
the bread of life. But who would speak of the 
Christian home as a place of spiritual destitution! 
And why change from the original design of the 



RELATIONS OF HOME TO THE CHURCH. 201 

Sunday-school? Nay, why not now as then have 
the trained children (?) of the Christian homes he- 
come the messengers to go out into the highways 
and !. . r into the Sunday-school the 

poor and the wayward to hear the word of life? 
Surely this plan. Why not execute it now? 

Hut instead of this the lamentable fact stares us in 
the face that too much time must be -pent with the 
children of so-called Christian homes to collect and 
hold them in the Sunday-school. And thus the 
time and effort originally contemplated for the rag- 
amuffins is largely consumed with a class which, by 
proper training in the home, ought to have become 
the cheerful and efficient assistants in this work. 

But who is at fault in this matter? Where shall 

we lay the Maine? Surely these are grave ques- 

Witfa many of those who do come, it has 

me a habit that ere the sound of the "amen " 
in the closing prayer of the Sunday-school has time 

-one. The}- seldom 
are in the pew with their parents to hear the word 

Qtly are found in the 

ple*a meetings. They grow up 

I with th< I and follies of the 

And by and by t' 
and wonder, win are not ourchildren in the church? 



202 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

And again we inquire into the cause. Let them 
again turn to the word and there read God's charge 
to Israel (Deut. vi. 6-12), if they would learn the 
cause of all this. The careful and prayerful reader 
and observer will find the cause for these lament- 
able effects in the home, just as in the case of EH 
and David. But instead of all this it was possi- 
ble for those parents to have reared within their 
own homes, the first and surest stepping stones 
into the sanctuary, and to the very altar in the 
house of God. For in a properly governed home 
— in the Christian home—it is natural for the 
children to revere and love that which is revered 
and loved by the parents. This is almost an 
intuitive law. Hence in such homes the chil- 
dren almost intuitively learn to love the word 
of God as it falls from the lips of the kind 
father and the caressing mother. And then what 
more natural than to revere and love the faith- 
ful pastor, his wise counsels and timely instruc- 
tions, and with all to hear the public preaching of 
the word. On the other hand the unlearned and 
uncouth are as invariably "afraid and shy of that 
preacher. " But we intuitively carry with us the in- 
structions and impressions of our Christian home. 
It is natural to long to pass from the scenes, in- 



RELATIONS OF BOMB TO THE CHURCH. 

spired hopes aiul real coin forts of the home altar to 
the, scenes of hope and pathos, and a realization of 
the unspeakable gifts of God at his altar in the 
sanctuary. It was upon this principle that the 
angel testified of Abraham, ll For I know him, that 
he will command his children, and his household 
after him and they shall keep the -cay of //if 
Lord." Prom the home Abraham's children with 
one accord went forth in the way of the Lord to 
"/>■</> it" — Why? Because they had learned to 

revere and h>ve that way in the home. That man 

Ued the way to the hearts of those 

children, so that God by the word and his grace 

might keep them unto everlasting life. Oh for 

Abrahams, and we shall see more sons and 

daugbl ecrated to the Lord from their 

empty pews in the sanctuary on the 

. and in all the land we .shall hear the 

::ion chorus : 

" My native < otmtry, thee — 

I.ainl of tlu- DOble, fr< •• 

Thy iianit I live. 
I love thy ro, V.s ami rills, 
Thy wood • -Hi'! t. mpled hill; 
Uh fixture :■ 



204 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

It is to be noted further that the Church is, in a 
measure, only "the advance step of the Christian 
home. " Or, as one has said of the Christian home: 
"It is the Church in miniature." By another the 
Church has been fitly styled: "Our spiritual 
home." We would not in any way depreciate the 
function of the Church, but if possible impress 
upon the reader's mind that God has evidently 
designed the one to be preparatory — a stepping 
stone — to the other. While it is the province of 
the home to provide food and raiment for the 
body, and culture for the mind and heart, it is the 
province of the Church to dispense that which will 
give strength and lustre to the whole man. It is 
the province of the home to combine the temporal 
and the A, B, C of the spiritual, but that of the 
Church to deal wholly with the spiritual — from the 
alpha to the omega. Hence we dare not mistake 
— the home can not be exalted to a substitute for 
the Church, nor even to an equality with the 
Church. God has given to each a distinctive 
sphere, and yet the relation is intimate, unique and 
inseparable — the one the foot-stool, the other the 
altar; to the one God has committed the prepara- 
tion; to the other "the holy of holies" of his 
kingdom on earth, including the dispensation of 



RELATIONS OF HOME TO THE CHURCH. 205 

his means of grace from baptism even to the 
broken body and shed blood of her crucified, risen 
and ascended Head. Each therefore, by divine 
arrangement, has committed to it separate and 
special functions, the former preparatory to the 
latter. O what a thought for the Christian world! 
The Bible with its Christ in the earthly home; the 
mind enlightened and the heart quickened through 
the word and saved through Christ in the Church, 
out spiritual home. But the perfect law of liberty, 
with its glorified Christ in heaven, our everlasting 
home above. For there we shall be like him and 
see him as he is. what a passage !— from the 
altar in the home to the altar in the Church, and 
from the altar in the Church to the throne in 
! Christ in the home, Christ in the Church, 
• in heaven! how this thought should 
with zeal to grasp the highest pos- 
sibilities of the Christian home. I low they labor 
and toil fol comfortable homes, and for tin- trca.s- 

rth f.r their children. But < >! wh 
their spiritual home, the Church? And what of 

talk <>f the pleasures and 

me, and, inspired with the thought, 

the d ernes, " there ia do place 



206 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

Some years ago, a congregation of some twenty 
thousand people gathered in the "old Castle Gar- 
den," New York, to hear the famous Jenny Lind 
sing as no songstress had ever sung the sublime 
compositions of Beethoven, Handel and others. 
At length the Swedish Nightingale thought of her 
home, paused a moment as if to fold her wings for 
a higher flight, then she began with deep emo- 
tion to pour forth "Home, Sweet Home." The 
audience could not stand it: an uproar of applause 
stopped the music : tears gushed from those thou- 
sands of eyes like rain. Beethoven and Handel 
were forgotten. A moment later the song came 
again, with a voice trembling with deep emotion, 
but full and clear as if it had been the voice of an 
angel from heaven, 

" Home, Home, Sweet, Sweet Home, 
Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home." 

And that vast audience sat bound in fetters. 
And what was it that bound those twenty thousand 
souls? Ah! it was a secret (shall I say magic?) 
power in the word "home." 

ButO! If there are such ecstatic charms about 
the earthly home; ay more, in the Church, our 
spiritual home ! O what of that home above ! No 



RELATIONS OP BOMB TO THE CHURCH, 

wonder that the great Bickexsteth, as if convulsed 
with the thought, broke out in 

" Zion is our home, 
Jerusalem, the city of our God. 
O happy home! O happy children there! 
O blissful mausions of our Father's house! 
Bden for delight! 

te the harvests reaped once sown in tears; 

' y ministry enhan 
] the banquet of the wine of heaven 
Riches of K'ory incorruptible, 
Crowns, amaranthine crowns of victory, 
The voice of harpers, harping on their harps, 
Dthem of the holy cherubim, 
I river of the spirits joy, 
The britial palace of the Prince of / 
The Holiest of Holies— God is )u re." 

O that home above] We would, but we can not 

be that place — the home of our Father, o 

that family — ill washed white in the blood of the 

Lamb! The august vision makes us tremble as we 

and the sublimesl reach of human thought 

only point— feebly point— to the deep founds- 

of that home; to its God-built stories, walled 

adamant, paved with gold and adorned with 

: rapt in the bound) 

Sulgent glory of < *od; its occu- 



2o8 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

pants archangels, angels, cherubim and seraphim, 
with all the redeemed, and God the Father, the Sou 
and the Holy Ghost in their midst. O the thought 
of that home! No sorrow, no weeping, no tears, no 
separation, no death ! But home, sweet home! Beau- 
tiful home! Glorious home! Everlasting home! 
Home with each other; home with angels! Home 
with God! Blessed be God for that home! May 
our Heavenly Father give us deeper, higher and 
holier aspirations for the true home on earth, that 
we may lead the young from thence to the Church, 
their spiritual home, and thence from the foretaste 
to the full fruition in the home above. Amen! 



CHAPTER IX. 
IS THERE salvation OUTSIDE OB THE CHURCH? 

Li.r us take for our text in this chapter the 

■'.hat familiar language of our Lord, Mark 

xvi. 16, "He that believetfa and is baptized shall 

ved, but he that believeth not shall be 

damn 

There is a somewhat popular tendency just now 
umulation of names on the Church 
her than a real travailing for souls. 
There rt of popular aspiration to lai 

i the Church; and amid the zeal to real- 
i ibject of the Church 
and her ministry, in a measure at least, p 

and. The real object of the Church 

rth in our Lord's terse expression of 

. : " Por the Son of man is come to 

///<// which was lost." Luke \ix. 

io. This is the mi — ion of the Chunh. And In r 

aid not be "The world for the Church," 

• with tin- ten- 

the Church roll as the chief motive 
H 



2IO AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

rather than " to add to the Church such as shall be 
saved," the natural consequence is an increased 
nominal Church membership, with a tendency to- 
ward a correspondingly decreased spiritual life and 
power. The result is more faulty — more weak and 
sickly — Church members on the one hand, and on 
the other a growing tendency, with a certain class 
without the Church, toward the modern Pharisaism 
which claims, "we are as good as those in the 
Church." And hence for their special benefit we 
raise the question of this chapter, " Is there salva- 
tion outside of the Church ? " 

This question has perplexed the minds of some 
both within and without the Church. But the 
difficulty, it seems to us, is clearly solved in our 
text. It draws the line of distinction clearly be- 
tween the saved and the unsaved. "He that 
believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he 
that believeth not shall be damned." This lan- 
guage is unmistakably clear. Nevertheless, a 
proper solution of the question will depend some- 
what upon 

WHAT WE MEAN BY THE CHURCH. 

Paul defines the Church as " the body of 
Christ" (i Cor. xii. 27). But this definition will 






SAI.\ TSIDH OP Till- CHURCH. 211 

be more clearly understood as we note the two-fold 

State of the Church— the visible and the invisible. 
The visible Church consists of all those who, in a 
pnbli< in of faith and by the ordinance of 

:n, have been inducted into her visible 
n. It has been very properly de- 
fined as "a body of believers in Christ, to whom 
the word is preached and the sacraments are prop- 
erly administered. " The invisible Church, on the 
other hand, consists of all who are savingly united 
with Christ, its spiritual and invisible Head. It 
is invisible in that its service, the communion of 
. the work of grace and the fellowship and 
of the Holy Ghost, .ire all spiritual 
and invisible in their nature. Hence we have a 
Church within a Church. Not indeed by wav of 

Churches, but by 

Of distinction between the true constituents Of 

Church and its merely nominal adherents. 

hand, we count those only whose 

Lent of the offend grace is what it should be 

— we < • wh,, h.ive been bom of water 

and the Spirit, those only whose names have been 
>k of life— as memb 

the im hurch. But, on the other hand, 

■•:nt all those who are connected with the 



212 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

external or visible organization of God's kingdom 
as members of the visible Church. But we would 
impress upon the reader's mind again the fact that 
these are not two, but one Church. The one is 
within the other, as the holy of holies — the She- 
kinah — was within the temple. And the members 
of the invisible Church ordinarily are all mem- 
bers of the visible Church. It is highly import- 
ant therefore that we note this distinction, and 
that we do not transfer the promises given to the 
one to the other. Our text includes the member- 
ship of the visible Church, but is not limited to it. 
Onr Lord here plainly presents the way of access 
to the visible Church, but does not limit himself to 
it. And it will be observed also that the require- 
ments for accession to the visible Church are all 
that is necessary for membership in the invisible 
Church, and for salvation, if its requirements are 
fully complied with, and its offered means prop- 
erly appropriated. For its requirements are 

i. Repentance. "Then Peter said unto them, 
Repent and be baptized every one of you * * * 
for the remission of sins " (Acts ii. 38). Repent- 
ance is God's first requirement from the sinner — it 
is the first step toward God and his kingdom. 
But this is not enough. He who would stop here 



SALVATION OUTSIDE OF THE CHURCH. 213 

would fail to realize the promises of eternal life. 
Hence John (l Epis. i. 9) said: ll If we confess our 
sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, 
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Re- 
pentance and confession are handmaidens, there- 
fore, in the gospel, and both are prerequisites to 
S to the Church. The first requisites for ac- 
□ to the Church, therefore, are also the first 
steps toward God and his kingdom. But God's 
word requires 

2. Faith. "He that believeth and is baptized 
shall be saved." And the Apostle to the Hebrews 

declares, " But without faith it is impossi- 
ble to please God. For he that cometh to God 
most believe that he is, and that he is the re- 
warder of them that diligently seek him." Here 
faith is set forth as a plain and evident require- 
ment of the gospel — it is a condition both of ac- 
■ the Church and salvation. A confession of 
faith is necessary in each ease. 

3. Baptism is another requisite. Our Lord 
plainly declares "He that believeth and is bap- 

ihall be saved" Hence baptism is a pre- 
requisite alike : ion to the Church and 
Ivation. Hence the w to the 

'.1 must be the way of >alvatioii. And QUI 



214 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

Lord's declaration comprehends all the essentials 
for both. But let us not forget the fact that a 
mere nominal compliance with these requirements 
is no insurance of membership in the invisible 
Church, nor of salvation. For in Matt. vii. 21, we 
read: "Not every one that saith unto me Lord, 
Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven." 
Hence membership in the visible Church does not 
necessarily insure salvation. The visible Church 
does offer the means of salvation, but "per se " is 
not a guarantee to it. But the invisible Church, 
and that only, contains the true membership of 
God's kingdom. Without membership in Gocfs 
invisible Church there is therefore no salvation. 

Let us then definitely understand what we mean 
by the Church. In the common acceptation of the 
term we mean the visible organization of God's 
believing people, to whom the word is preached 
and the sacraments are administered. With this 
definition in view the subject of this chapter is 
presented. And in the light of the deductions 
just made, it would naturally and logically follow 
that as the Church does not necessarily insure sal- 
vation, so neither on the other hand does it follow 
that there is absolutely no salvation outside of the 
Church. 



SALVATION OUTSIDE OF THK CHURCH. 215 

But let us here introduce another inquiry: 
// 'hat are the absolute- essentials to salvation t 

Generally speaking, the external ordinance of 

:n and the means of grace are regarded as 

tial tu salvation. But no one of the orthodox 

churches teaches that either of these is absolutely 

ration ; that is, that without them 

salvation is absolutely impossible. But there are 

some means which are absolutely essential to sal- 

The distinction therefore between those 

means which are essentia] and those which are 

Lvation is as marked as be- 
tween the visible and the invisible Church. The 
point then of special importance just here is what 

are those means which are absolutely essential to 

salvation, in contradistinction to those which are 
ential in the ordinary sense. 

It will . Imitted by all, that our 

- comprehends all that is required 

': in both the visible and the invisible 
Church, and must t;. omprehend all that is 

lvation. For we haw 

1. / faith — " He that believeth and 

I mall be saved." In this onr Lord did 

il h as made 
in tin -not merely an induction into 



2l6 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

a nominal Christian life — but vastly more : He 
would have his subjects reach beyond, and by the 
operations and exercise of a living faith appropri- 
ate the atoning blood of Christ. The promise of 
salvation is to those only who exercise such faith. 
It is not a difficult matter to distinguish between 
such a faith and a mere nominal or historical faith. 
The latter accepts the facts in the case as such — as 
mere historical truths — but little if anything more. 
But the former cleaves unto the divine — it accepts 
and appropriates the intrinsic worth or merit in his 
saving power. Therefore the apostle to the He- 
brews (xi. 6) said: "For he that cometh to God 
must believe that he is, and that he is the rewarder 
of them that diligently seek him." That is, we 
are not simply to accept in a passive way the fact 
that there is a God, but to accept and apply the 
saving efficacy of Christ as our personal Saviour. 
This is the meaning of our Saviour's words: "Be- 
lieve and be baptized and thou shalt be saved." 
Without the exercise of such faith salvation is ab- 
solutely impossible. 

And then we have 

2. The True Baptism. " He that believeth and 
is baptized shall be saved." This is compre- 
hended in the ordinance of baptism, but is not 



SALVATION OUTSIDE OF THE CHURCH. 217 

limited to it. The external application of water 
in the ordinance of baptism does not of itself work 
:n the exercise of the " true faith M 
in the ordinance of baptism, the true baptism — 
that of the Holy Ghost— is secured. Thus the 
believer realizes within what is signified without. 
The former is the means, the latter the end. ( >nr 

In the text, looked through the water to the 
true, the Holy Ghost baptism. And without this 

:n there is absolutely no salvation. Christ's 

language on this subject is unmistakable. (John 

rily, verily, I say unto thee, except a 

man be born of water and of the Spirit he cannot 

enter into the kii God." This is the posi- 

tive 1 i L's Redeemer. Hence the 

the Holy Ghost must be absolutely 

I.:'.- v. : Paul in his letter 

emphasizes the same truth: " Not 

ghteOUSneSS which we have done, 

but a to his mercy he saved us by the 

••on and the renewing of the 

I all, we are .saved by the 
\Hon and, the ; I »f the 

we have the ordinance of the 
j the reality of the invisi- 
ble. We have the oral 



2l8 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

ing the real operations of the heart; and the ex- 
ternal application of water signifying and procuring 
for us the operations of the Holy Ghost within. 
As therefore the invisible Church is comprehended 
within the visible, so the absolute essentials to 
salvation are signified by and comprehended in the 
external ordinances. True faith and true baptism 
are therefore absolutely essential to salvation. 
Hence we return to the original inquiry, 

"Is there salvation outside of the Church f " 
This is a grave question, and can be answered 
best by answering both affirmatively and nega- 
tively with some modifications. 

i. Affirmatively. There is salvation outside of 
the visible Church. For we have just observed 
that the ordinances of the visible Church are es- 
sential, but not absolutely essential to salvation. 
Hence there must be a possibility of salvation out- 
side of the visible Church. This conclusion is 
confirmed by the promise to the thief on the cross. 
To him Christ said: " This day thou shalt be with 
me in Paradise." Being on the cross he could 
not then and there be inducted into the visible 
Church by its external ordinance; but, having 
publicly confessed Christ, he complied with the 



SALVATION OUTSIDE OP THE CHURCH. 2ig 

external conditi ilvation so fax as it was 

ble for him to do. He believed and publicly 

confessed his faith; but as he could nut then be 
baptized with water, God blessed him with the true 
— the Holy Ghost — baptism, and he was saved 
the visible Church. In the language of 
another, " It is the contempt for the sacrament, 
and not the want of it, that condemns. Though 
binds us to the means, he does not bind his 
own mercy by them.* 1 

But a few observations may give us a clearer 
ption of our conclusion. Let the reader 

: vc 

i. That fit subjects for the kingdom of God will 

intuitively yearn for the gates of Zion, and hence 

.a entrance inl I visible Church. If 

truly eon, erned about the salvation of their souls, 

men will ^o where the means of salvation are set 
forth and offered to all. If born of God, men will 

uong the people of ( iOcL 
That any indifference on this subject is 
prinm facie evidence of unfitness for heaven. 

indifferent about their church rela- 
tion ami ii cannot be 

: tied aDOUt their souls, and hence 

their unfitness for the kingdom <>f<*«<>d. 



220 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

3. To reject the means of grace offered to the 
world through the Church is to reject the salva- 
tion offered by Christ, the Head of the Church. 
And hence salvation outside of the Church is a 
bare possibility and to those only with whom 
church membership at the time of their conver- 
sion, or prior to death, is a practical impossibility, 
as in the case of the thief on the cross. 

But one says: "I believe and have been bap- 
tized; can I not live as well outside of the Church 
as in it? To this there can be but one answer— it 
is emphatically, No ! As well attempt to maintain 
physical strength without the necessary food regu- 
larly administered, as to attempt living a real 
Christian life without all of the means of grace 
regularly appropriated. 

But to the original question we answer 

2. Negatively — that there is no salvation outside 
of the invisible Church. For as we have just ob- 
served, the essentials for membership in the invisi- 
ble Church are essential to salvation. Without the 
true faith and the true baptism no one can be saved. 
"Except a man be born again he can not see the 
kingdom of God; " and " Except a man be born of 
water and the Spirit he can not enter into the king- 
dom of God." " Ye must be bom again." John iii. 



SALVATION OUTSIDE OP THE CHURCH. 221 

;. And the Psalmist (xxiv. $-$) propounded 
and answered this grave question thus: "Who 
shall ascend into the hill of the Lord, or who 
shall stand in his holy place? lie that hath clean 
hands and a pure heart. * * * * He shall receive 
the bl 'in the Lord, and righteousness 

from the God of his salvation." He that truly 
believes and has been truly baptized shall he saved 
— all others will he l<>-t. 

And now, with these conclusions in mind, let it 

irefully noted, 
I. That though there be a possibility of salvation 
le of the visible Church, that it is a bare pos- 
sibility y and nothing more. Death-bed repentances 
are usually very uns ry at the best, and a 

. of such cases give very clear 

ince with God. One has well 

True repentance is never too late, but late 

. true." In all the Bible with 

its multitu mises and examples we have 

but on in a dying hour had the prom- 

th God— of salvation outside of 

Church, viz., the thief on the 

And even he in a me within her folds. 

He c< : : his faith in Christ, and 

■ought t'ne men y and pardon of his I^ord. He did 



222 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

all that could have been done under the circum- 
stances. And it may be God gave us this one 
example to teach us the bare possibility of sal- 
vation outside of the visible Church. Another has 
said of this case, " There is one, man need not de- 
spair ; there is only one, man dare not presume.'''' 
But be assured, dear reader, that God gave us the 
Church militant with all its means of grace to pre- 
pare us for the Church triumphant; and that 
those who neglect the proffered grace of the one 
can not hope to enjoy the "perfect love" of the 
other. 

Let it be observed, 

2. That there will be no probation after death. 
Our state at death will determine our state in 
eternity. The doctrine of a purgatory as a state of 
probation after death is without any scriptural 
foundation and is ridiculously absurd. Our Lord's 
promises of salvation are all limited to the oppor- 
tunities of this world. " He that believeth and is 
baptized" — not shall believe and be baptized in pur- 
gatory — "shall be saved " was the promise of our 
Lord, not to those in purgatory but to those on the 
earth. Dearly beloved, "Be not deceived; God is 
not mocked; for whatsoever a man soweth that 
shall he also reap. For he that soweth to the 



SALVATION OUTSIDE OF THE CHURCH, 823 

shall of the flesh reap corruption ; hut he that 
BOweth to the spirit shall of the spirit reap life 
everlasting/' "I beseech you therefore, by the 
mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living 
sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which is 
your reasonable service." Rom. xii. 1. 



CHAPTER X. 

THE SABBATH. 

"Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy: 
six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work ; but 
the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy 
God ; in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor 
tin- son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor 
thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger 
that is within thy gates. For in six days the 
Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that 
in them is, and rested on the seventh day; where- 
fore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hal- 
lowed it. 1 ' Ex. xx. 8-1 1. 

When God had completed the six days' work of 
creation we are told (Gen. ii. 2.) "and he rested 
on the seventh day from all his work which he 
had made." And when God gave the people this 
commandment by Moses, he gave as the reason 
why it should be kept, that the Lord labored six 
days and rested the seventh. (Ex. xx. 8-1 1.) 
"For in six days the Lord made heaven and 
earth * * * and rested the seventh day. Where- 
(224) 






THE SABBATH. 225 

fore the Lord blest the Sabbath day and hallowed 
it." Oh, hallowed rest that must have been! 

The term Sabbath is from the Hebrew Sabbat**, 
to rest. The New Testament name lor the day 
of rest is "The Lord's Day." But in the pre- 
sentation of our thoughts in this chapter we shall 
speak of it as the Christian Sabbath, as in contra- 
distinction to the Jewish Sabbath. For as God, 
when he had finished the work of creation, 
"rested from all the work which he had made," 
nr Lord, when he had finished the work 
of redemption, rested. Hence the Lord's Lay — the 
Christian Sabbath — is to be a day of "rest." But 

some people have Very Strange ideas about the 

term rest Solomon long since expressed their 
of rest in his description of the sluggard 

"Yet a little sleep, a little slum- 
in- of the hands to >'.ccp." But 

i of the term rest Rest 
not mean inactivity or idleness. Wire this 

true, then heaven would be the idler's ideal home. 
Btlt On the other hand, we ale told that 110 idler 

shall enter the kingdom of heaven. But the true, 

1 liberation — building 
hange of conditions 
b is demonstrated in 



226 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

every-day life. We labor until wearied and ex- 
hausted, then lie down to sleep. But at no time 
are certain functions of the body more busy than 
when we sleep. Rest is not idleness, therefore, 
neither is idleness rest. Apply this principle to 
the divine idea of the Sabbath, and we have the 
true idea of the Sabbath as a rest day. But God 
rested from all his labors— kept it as a day of hal- 
lowed, triumphant joy over a week's work. It 
was a blissful change from the busy scenes of crea- 
tion—from the exercise of his omnipotent power, 
in its execution, to viewing and gleaning of real 
glory from his work. So the Christian, turning 
from six days of the busy scenes of life to enjoy 
the Sabbath, views and gleans the glory of God 
from it. This is true rest. And in this we have 
the divine idea of the Sabbath. Hence God said: 
"Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." 

But there are those who seem perplexed as to 
when and why the change from the seventh to the 
first day took place. If God originally appointed 
the seventh day as the Sabbath, and commanded 
his people to recognize and keep it as such, why, 
when, and by what authority the change? From 
the time God instituted the Sabbath to the time of 
the crucifixion of Christ, there was no interrup- 



THE SABBATH. 227 

tion in the keeping of the original day. But the 

- made by Christ himself. We are told 

it he came to fulfill the law. But 

in fulfilling the law he completed the works of one 
a by inaugurating a new and more 

ue. Hence the fulfilling of the law 
meant .1 complete change in all the leading 
tares of the economy and government of his visi- 
ble kingdom. Instead of circumcision, as the 
initiatory rite into his kingdom, we have baptism ; 
instead of the passover, we have the Lord's Sup- 
the blood - sacrifice fa- 

sin, we have the precious blood of Christ ; instead 
of the seventh day, or Jewish Sabbath, we now 
the Christian Sabbath. Tlie- 
change, tl. I the resurrection of 
Christ and by his authority. Foi we observe 

1. That to the time of his crucifixion Christ 

ind rigidly observed the seventh day as 

bbath. But after his crucifixion — the work 

then he would rise- and rest 

all his laboi and keep it as the Chi 

: this time to hia ascension he 

idly as the 
;>t the seventh. In 
John 1 



228 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

Christian Sabbath spent by our Lord with his 
disciples between his resurrection and ascension. 
"Then the same day at evening, being the first 
day of the week, when the doors were shut where 
the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, 
came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto 
them, Peace be unto you. And when he had so 
said, he showed unto them his hands and his side. 
Then were the disciples glad when they saw the 
Lord. And after eight days again his disciples 
were within, and Thomas with them ; then came 
Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the 
midst, and said, Peace be unto you." Without 
any record, or even any intimation that they kept 
any other, we do have the record of their keeping 
the first day— and that against fierce opposition ; 
such was their fear of the Jews that they had the 
doors closed.* But notwithstanding the opposi- 
tion, the change was a permanent one. From the 
scene of Christ's ascension the disciples returned 
to Jerusalem to await the day of Pentecost, as in- 
structed in Luke xxiv. 49. "And behold I send 
the promise of my Father upon you, but tarry ye 
in the city of Jerusalem until ye be endued with 
power from on high." (Read also Acts i, 9, 14)- 

*See also Luke xxiv. 36-51. 



THE SABBATH. 229 

ntly the day of Pen me — it was the 

first day of the week, the new, the Christian Sab- 
bath. On that day the disciples began their work 
with power, and three thousand souls were happily 

converted to Christ. Oh, blessed Christian Sab- 
bath that must have been! 

But mindful of the fact that he came not to 

I to fulfil the law; that it was a part 

of his mission not only to abrogate all that was 

rmal, ceremonial and slavish, but more 

illy to bring forth the life and spirit of that 

law — mindful of these, let us hear his declaration 

to the rigid Sabbatarians of his day (Mark ii. 27- 

bath was made for man, and not 

man for the Sabbath; therefore the Son of man is 

ibbath." If now he came to 

fulfil the whole law; and if Lord of the Sabbath; 

and if he arose on the first day, appeared to his 

than five times on that day, 

and kept : bbatll with them as he before 

kept the Jewish Sabbath, it would naturally 

that Chi red thus to complete his 

work on the earth by cli 

the J> 

of tin >rd*s day — the Chris- 

ith. lint it will be observed 



23O AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

2. That his disciples who were Jews, and who 
before the resurrection of Christ had uniformly 
kept the seventh day as the Sabbath, after his 
resurrection just as uniformly kept the first day as 
the Sabbath. In the Gospel by John (xx. 19) we 
read that they assembled under great difficulty 
— "for fear of the Jews" — but they assembled, 
nevertheless, to keep and celebrate the Christian 
Sabbath. In the Acts of the Apostles (xx. 7) we 
read: "And upon the first day of the week, when 
the disciples came together to break bread, Paul 
preached unto them and continued his speech 
until midnight." Here two things are brought to 
onr notice: First, that they came together to break 
bread, that is, to celebrate the Lord's Supper. As 
the Jews celebrated the Passover on the Jewish 
Sabbath, so now the disciples would celebrate the 
dying love of their crucified Lord on the Lord's 
day — on the Christian Sabbath. Second, that 
Paul preached unto them. That is, as the Jews 
had formerly met in the temple and in the syna- 
gogues on the Jewish Sabbath to hear the law read 
and expounded, so now the disciples met to hear 
the Gospel of the "Lord of the Sabbath" preached 
unto them on the Lord's own day — on the Chris- 
tian Sabbath. In 1 Cor. xvi. 2 Paul writes: 



THK SABBATH. 25 1 

" Upon the first day of the week let every one lay 

by him in I rod hath prospered him, that 

there ' hen I come. 11 And John 

in his vision <>n Patmos writes (Rev. i. 10): "I 

in the spirit on the Lord's day." Prom these 

trident that the disciples, in accord 

with the example and precept of their Lord and 

r, and the significance of his resurrection, 

carefully and rigidly observed the first day of the 

week as their Sabbath. 

3. V. e that according to the uniform 

the early church fathers, the first instead 
of the seventh day was kept as the Sabbath. The 
ribed tu Barnabas, which was in exist- 
ence in the early part of the second century, 
" celebrating with joy the day on which 
:." Justin Martyr, A. I >. 
1 >n the day called Sunday is an 

: all who live in the cities, OT in rural 

nd the memoirs of the apostles and the 

writings of the prophets arc read." [renaeus, 

as, in A. I >. 17S; Clement, of Ale\- 

rertullian and < trigen a little 

lin, A. I>. 253 — all 

by the Christian Chinch. 
Alexandria, A. 1 1 • i , -..;. s: " We 



232 AROUND THE HOME TABLE- 

keep the Lord's day as a day of joy because of him 
who rose thereon." In short, a review of the cus- 
tom of the early Church shows conclusively that 
though many converts from Judaism observed for 
a time the Mosaic Sabbath, the Gentile converts 
were never taught or required to do so. (See Acts 
xv. 19-29.) But the whole Christian Church ob- 
served the first day of the week— met on it for 
worship, and on it abstained from all secular busi- 
ness, so far as they could in the midst of heathen- 
ism. It gradually took the place of the Jewish 
Sabbath, aud became the holy-day of the new 
dispensation. Wherever the people became con- 
verted to Christianity they substituted the first for 
the seventh day— the Christian for the Jewish 
Sabbath. 

In A. D. 321 the Roman emperor Constantine 
issued his famous edict legalizing the Christian 
Sabbath as a day of rest. In A. D 325 the Coun- 
cil of Nice recognized the observance of the first 
day, or Christian Sabbath, as an established insti- 
tution of the Church. Richard Baxter says ; 
"That the first Christian emperor, finding all 
Christians unanimous in the possession and keep- 
ing of the day," (that is, the Christian Sabbath) 
" should make a law for the due observance of it, 



THE SABBATH. 233 

and that the first Christian Council should estab- 
lish uniformity in the very gesture of worship on 
that day." Prom Mich testimony as this we must 
conclude that the Christian Sabbath was generally 
observed by all Christians. And so SOOU as the 
Christian became the prevailing religion, the 
Christian Sabbath was established by law. And 
it would certainly seem 
lible that in less than four centuries the 
vance of the fir>t day of the week as the 
Christ th would become SO universal as to 

me the lawful substitute for the Jewish Sab- 
bath, instituted of God and kept by his people 
since Moses talked with Cod in the holy mount, if 
it (the Chri bbath) had nol been instituted 

by Christ and his a] a substitute for the 

And he wh< of the Sabbath, who 

oa the first day, and met and blessed his dis- 
::d on that day poured out his 
n them, has been meeting and blessing 
on that day lor nineteen centuries. In 
an} one think of return- 
nth da\ —to tlu- J« wish- as our Sab- 
As well think of changing 
in, from the b 
experiences in the sanctuary u> tin formal ■• remo- 



234 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

nies of the temple, or from faith in the Lamb of 
Calvary to offering the firstlings of our flocks and 
herds as sacrifices for sin. 

It is well, however, that we do not become con- 
fused with the term "Sunday" so commonly 
applied to the first day of the week. The term 
Sunday is of heathen origin, but the day to which 
it is applied is not. The first day of the week is as 
distinctively the Sabbath to us as was the seventh 
to the Jews. The Jews under their dispensation 
had their Sabbath. We under the Chistian dis- 
pensation have the Christian Sabbath. Let us 
rejoice, therefore, in the Lord's day as a day of 
hallowed memories, and strive to secure a more 
o-eneral and thorough sanctity of it. 

But having now settled in our minds the day to 
be kept as the Christian Sabbath, let us give some 
attention 

TO THE KEEPING OF IT. 
The commandment is, "Remember the Sabbath 
day to keep it holy: Six days shalt thou labor 
and do all thy work, but the seventh day is the 
Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not 
do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, 
thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy 
cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates. 



THE SABBATH. 

l-'ov in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, 

the sea and all that in them is, and rested the 
Beventh day. Wherefore the Lord blessed the Sab- 
bath day and hallowed it." 

In this commandment several things are clearly 
presented to us: 

i. That tin- Sabbath is to be a compht, 
day. It is set apart as the Lord's day. And no 
unnecessary work whatever is to be done on that 
day, G in this commandment "in it (the 

halt not do any work." It means 

just what it says, and is no less comprehensive 
than positive It means vim, dear reader, and all 
under your control, ami it in- 
cludes all unnecessary work. Hut one will ask, 
what is unneo >rk? As the Bible is its 

own best interpreter, let us turn to it for an answer 
iniry. In the Gospel by St. Matthew 
(xii. ; have the point illustrated. " And 

I there was a man which had his hand 
withered. And they asked him. Baying, Is it law- 
ful to heal on the Sabbath days? And 1; 
them, What man shall there beamonj 

th.it ll beep, and if it shall fall into a 

pit Ofl •■ ill he not lay hold on it. 

and lift it oul ' How then is a man better than a 



236 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

sheep ? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on die 
Sabbath days." The reader will do well to read 
also Luke xiii. n-17, and John ix. 13-16. In 
these passages our Lord gives us a general prin- 
ciple from which we understand that relief ren- 
dered in sickness, or suffering, or danger of the loss 
of life, with man or beast, are always valid excep- 
tions in this commandment. On the other hand, 
God's word is very explicit as to the unnecesary 
work. Aside from the positive command "in it 
thou shalt not do any work," we observe further : 
1. That no trading whatever is to be done on 
the Sabbath. We have an illustration of God's 
sore displeasure with Israel for this in the time of 
Nehemiah, xiii. 15-18. "There dwelt men of 
Tyre also therein which brought fish, and all 
manner of ware, and sold on the Sabbath unto the 
children of Judah, and in Jerusalem. Then I 
contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto 
them, What evil thing is this that ye do, and pro- 
fane the Sabbath day ? Did not your fathers thus, 
and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, 
and upon this city? Yet ye bring more wrath 
upon Israel by profaning the Sabbath." This 
should forever settle the question of Sabbath 
shopping with all who have any regard for God or 



THE SABBATH. 237 

his wold. No victuals or wares — absolutely noth- 
ing was to be sold or bought on the Sabbath ; 
id pronounced it "profaning the Sabbath." 
O that the "Lord of the Sabbath" may have 
mercy upon those who, in this advanced age of 
Christian civilization, persistently "pro- 
' bath by opening their places of 
business and those who patronize them ! For both 
are alike guilty of Sabbath desecration. The visi- 
tation of the barber shop, the meat market, the 
grocer, or any other place of business, is a flagrant 
: the principle and spirit of the Lord's 
nd can not do otherwise than incur the sore 
Upon us as a church and 

But the word of God further specifies: 

2. Thai of food are to be made on 

ibbath, such as gathering of fruit or baking. 

from the boo'. •. i. 22-26) : 

is that on the sixth </<rv they 

gtUheri ■ I all the rulers 

came and • And he said unto them. 

This u that which Uu. Lord hath said^ 

tth unto the Lord, bake 
that 1 bake to-day^ and seethe that 

which id that which remaineth 



238 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

over lay up for you to be kept until the morning. 
* * * And Moses said, Eat that to-day, for to- 
day is the Sabbath unto the Lord, to-day ye shall 
not find it in the field. Six days shall ye gather 
it, but on the seventh day, which is the Sabbath, in 
it there shall be none." 

Here God would teach us to provide and prepare 
all food for the Sabbath the day before. Let there 
be "no baking or seething on the Sabbath." 
Give your maid-servants at least one day in seven 
as a rest day— a day in which they may turn aside 
from the monotony of the kitchen and read and 
ponder over God's word, meditate upon his good- 
ness, and worship in his holy temple. With Israel 
the Sabbath was to be a day of hallowed rest for 
all— for son and daughter, man-servant and maid- 
servant, for cattle, and the stranger who might 
chance to be under their care. It was not to be a 
day of eating and drinking— a day of revelry— but 
the same provisions were to be made for that day 
as any other, only that all preparations were to be 
made the day before. " Bake that which ye will 
bake and seethe that which ye will seethe to-day, 
for to-morrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto 
the Lord." This was not to be a day of social gath- 
erings and feastings, but a day of fasting and holy 



THE SABBATH. 



239 



•cations— "a holy Sabbath unto the Lord." 
But with only too many now the Lord's day, 
instead of "a holy Sabbath unto the Lord," has 
become a day ut" cooking, eating and drinking— a 
day of social revelry. How long, O Lord! how 
g shall these things be ! 
lint the Sabbath, instead of being a day for buv- 
lling, of cooking, eating and drinking, 
be 
2. A Hallowed Day. 

"Wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day 
and hallowed it." "Remember the Sabbath day 
to keep it holy." Hence the prophet Kzekiel 
(xlvi. $) said : " Likewise the people of the land 
shall worship at the door of this gate before the 
" And (Heb. x. 2.}, 25) 
one another to provoke unto love 

and to good works, not forsaking the assembling 
. the Lord's daj I as the 
mann< 1 ie is, but exhorting one another ; 

much th e the day approach- 

tag." Th( • in these passages i^ sanctity, 

G ted on tlie Sabbath, 

hilt hallowed and blessed it. He would have his 
I he himself kepi it, and do hoin- 

ibbath by keeping it 



24 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

day of devotion. Thus the Sabbath is designed to 
become an honor to God, and a blessing to our- 
selves. To those, therefore, who properly observe 
the Sabbath-to those who "remember to keep it 
holy »_ it becomes in the true sense a rest day for 
the weary body, and a day of blessed recuperation 
and feasting for the immortal soul, a foretaste of 
that eternal Sabbath in the city of our God. 

From the sanctity of the Sabbath let us turn to a 
brief consideration of 

Our Responsibility in Securing a Proper Keep- 
ing of the Sabbath. 

With one accord our readers will consent to the 
fact that the Sabbath ought to be respected and 
kept but the fact of both personal and mutual re- 
sponsibility has not been so generally realized and 
appreciated. But when we remember that every 
commandment from God involves responsibility, 
the fact of personal responsibility becomes at once 
apparent to all. Upon the presumption of per- 
sonal responsibility God not only gave the com- 
mandment, " Six days shalt thou labor and do all 
thy work," but proceeded to fix the penalty for its 
violation (Ex. xxxi. 14, 15,) " Ye sha11 kee ? the 
Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy unto you : Every 
one that defileth it shall surely be put to death. 



TIIK SABBATH. 241 

For whosoever doetli any work therein, that soul 
shall be cut off from among his people. Six days 
may work be done, but in the seventh is the Sab- 
bath of rest, holy to the Lord. Whosoever doeth 
any work in the Sabbath day, he shall surely be 
put to death." Here is a penalty which is nothing 
inure than the culmination of the responsibility 
presumed in the commandment. Hence personal 
Qsibility becomes at once a fixed fact. But 
even of this fact the Christian public has either 
had very inadequate conception, or has had little if 
any regard to conscience. But God did not rest 
the matter even with personal responsibility but 
would comprehend in his commandment mutual 
nihility. He says, •'Thou, nor thy son, nor 
thy daughter, nor thy man-servant, nor thy maid- 
servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy Stranger that is 

within thy This commandment is no less 

Comprehensive, therefore-, than positive. It in- 
cludes all with whom we hive to do, n ligiously or 
civilly. For the language was addressed to M 
and through him, as their ecclesiastical and civil 
Bven th<- Btranger within 
is included It mattered not who he 
• whence be came— whether .1 guest in a pri- 

I traveler lodging Within Israel's 



242 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

gates or bounds— he was to "remember the Sab- 
bath day to keep it holy." And God held Moses 
and his people as executors of his law. "Whoso- 
ever shall do any work in the Sabbath day, he 
shall surely be put to death." Hence the mutual 
responsibility. This point is subsequently illus- 
trated and confirmed by God's message through 
Jeremiah (xvii. 21-27) to Judah : "And it shall 
come to pass, if ye will diligently harken unto 
me, saith the Lord, to bring in no burden through 
the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but to 
hallow the Sabbath day, to do no work therein, 
then shall there enter into the gates of this city 
kings and princes sitting upon the thrones of 
David, riding in chariots and on horses," etc. In 
short, God promises the mutual joy of civil and 
ecclesiastical peace and prosperity for the proper 
observance of his day. " But" (he continues), "if 
ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the Sabbath 
day, * * * * then will I kindle a fire in the gates 
thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusa- 
lem, and it shall not be quenched." This was 
God's message to all the people of Jerusalem, and 
for the violation of that message by any part, the 
whole city was held accountable. We have a sim- 
ilar illustration of mutual responsibility in the 



THB SABBATH. 343 

book of Revelations (xviii. 4): "And I heard 

another voice from heaven saying, Come out of 

her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her 

ad that ye receive not of her plagues. " 

had fallen so completely under the 

fearful sin that the Christian people 

could no longer control it. Hence God would 

have his people manifest the:: al of it by 

f it." A failure to do this would 

made them " partakers of her sins." and of 

the penall . her plagues.* 1 What a lesson for 

a Christian Church and nation ! 

: reader, let this thought be riveted on your 

mind that wherever the sin of Sabbath desecration 

»me partakers of the sin with all 

whom we can control either by home, civil, or 

1 d ride, and partakers of the penalty. 

While it is true that we are not, in the literal 

.sense of tin- term, our brother's keeper, yet there 
1 unique in their general tendencies, 

and in their effects in both private and public life, 
mutual responsibility. The sin of 

ion is one of th.it kind. 

Bnt with a : al observations we will 

' -iiis chapter to the pi i\ n ml 



244 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

i. That we can not be truly God's people with- 
out a careful observance of his day. It is the 
Lord's day, to be observed by the Lord's people at 
least. "For whosoever doeth any work therein, 
that soul shall be cut off from among his people." 
(Ex. xxxi. 14.) God would not permit such a 
person to be numbered among his people. But 
what of those now whose names are recorded in 
our Church records, but who profane the Sabbath 
by unnecessary work, and by visiting barber shops, 
meat markets, the grocer and baker, participate in 
Sunday excursions— or what is even worse, to wit- 
ness the scene of revelry and riot of a baseball 
ground on the Lord's day ? Are their names writ- 
ten in the Lamb's book of life? Dear reader, "think 
on these things." 
It will be observed 

2. That upon the proper observance of the 
Lord's day will depend largely both our civil and 
religious prosperity. Of this history affords us 
ample illustration. Every one conversant with 
the history of God's ancient people under their 
original and subsequent forms of government is 
well aware of the fact that the secret of either their 
prosperity or their adversity and failure was trace- 
able to their observance of or their disregard for 



THK SABBATH. 245 

the divine law and its precepts. The history of 

reat empires of the world bears testimony to 

the same truth. And strange to say that this one 

ting the Sabbath is a sort of key to all the 

l's law. Hence, the ri>e and fall of the 

great empires of the world have kept pace with 

their observance or desecration of the ho'. 

bath. If from no higher motive therefore than 

that of civil prosperity, what an incentive for a 

careful and rigid observance of the Lord's dav! 

Surely we can not afford to allow the greed for 

Uy treasures t<> swallow up the hope of 

:ity under the fool's verdict (1 Cor. 

" I. I DS eat and drink, for to-morrow we 

die." But these illustrations from I >rd are 

fulfillment of ( I at the mouth of his 

prophets (Jer. xvii. Ji-27 ; Xcch. vii. 14). And 

shall we not h.r. for God's word 

I and verified in history? <> that 

our hearts may be inspired with the true Spirit of 

which will have regard for the Cod of 

I for his day ! Then shall we hear our 

a in One universal 
i gladness, 

O day of joy ■ad light, 
O balm of 1 are and Md 

•lii! and Bright ; 



246 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

On thee, the high and lowly, 

Bending before the throne, 
Sing, holy, holy, holy, 

To the Great Three in One." 

3. The conversion of souls and the general pros- 
perity of the Church will depend on the use we 
make of the Lord's day. God has set apart this 
d ay _" hallowed and blessed it"— as his. It was 
set apart for the specific purpose of man's moral 
and spiritual amelioration. As man's physical 
nature needs proper exercise for development, so 
his spiritual. God has set apart and hallowed his 
day for this purpose. Hence the great achieve- 
ments that have been witnessed on that day. On 
that day the first apostolic sermon yielded the 
fruit of three thousand converts— 3000 souls were 
made happy in a Saviour's love, and many more 
made strong in his grace. Paul preached his 
greatest sermons on the Lord's day, and on that 
day reaped his greatest harvest of souls. How 
diligently our Lord wended his way to the syna- 
gogue or the temple on each Sabbath of his min- 
istry ! How carefully his disciples subsequently 
followed his example. Why all this ? The fruit 
of their work is the answer ! Their examples 
speak to us, " Go thou and do likewise." Surely 



THK SABBATH. 247 

those were days of spiritual prosperity in the 
. gainsaying and stiff-necked people. 
The same use of the Lord's day will bring like 
result even in this age of aggressive worldiness 
and sin. 

" Awake, ye saints, awake ! 

And hail this sacreil day ; 
In loftiest songs of pi 

Your humblest homage pay ; 
Come bleaa the day that God has bleat, 
The type of heaven's eternal rest.'' 

Ble- Jit, that in the proper use of the 

Sabbath we have a type of that which is to come. 

At the institution of the first Sabbath the Lord 

At the institution of the second 

the Lord of the Sabbath taught us how to keep ami 

that we might find that rest which God him- 

DJoyed on the first Hut only in the proper 

: that day will these joys he realized Would, 

therefore, that the Christian world, inspire. 1 by 
this thought, might lead in what should be the 
universal sou- : 

" Thi: !. w<- love ; 

Hut there is nol . c- ; 

Thv servants tn that rest If] 
With ardent hope and str-UK 



248 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

" There languor shall no more oppress ; 
The heart shall feel no more distress ; 
No groan shall mingle with the songs 
That dwell upon immortal tongues. 

" When shall that glorious day begin, 
Beyond the reach of death or sin ? 
Whose sun shall never more decline 
But with unfading lustre shine." 






CHAPTER XI. 

TRUB MANHOOD. 
(Or a chapter for Young Men.) 

Tin-: apostle Paul in his first epistle to the Corin- 
thians ixvi. 13) has given DS the watchword for 
this chapter, "Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, 
quit you like men, be strong." This was a bit of 
and timely counsel to the Corinthian people. 
with danger as they were on every hand, 
Paul, like the general of an army, would inspire 
id strength in words like these. He not 
only foresaw the danger, but with the courage of a 
Christian b ht to render the aid accessary 

rt it The advice and counsel here given 
contains the principle and the means by which 
every young man may avert like dangers in this 
with the zest and avidity of a 
Chri-ti.in her.,. The charge is founded upon three 
fundamentally essential to .success in any 
attitude or vocation in life. First, watchful 

about in life is sure to 
laml ,;: Hy in some unseen pitfall. Of the 



250 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

Christian life this is doubly true. Second, "faith" 
The man without faith (if there is such a being) is 
like a vessel at sea without a helm, left to the 
mercy of the storm and wave. But with his faith 
founded on the " Rock of Ages," he stands safely 
anchored amid the furious storms and lashing 
waves. Life's storms may spend their fury, and its 
turbulent waters their violence upon him, but un- 
harmed he plays about on its bosom as the vessel 
upon the tempestuous sea. And third, manliness. 
" Quit you like men " simply means to bring into 
activity all the functions and principles of true 
Christian manhood. These three factors fitly 
joined together, and the fortification is securely 
built. But that there is need of such a fortifica- 
tion — that there are dangers, dangers many, dan- 
gers great (dangers great because unseen), dangers 
at home and dangers abroad, dangers on land and 
dangers on sea, dangers in business and dangers in 
society, dangers in literature and dangers in illit- 
eracy — all alluring the minds of our young men, 
and opening to them the gates to vice and crime — 
is a fact which does not require the inspiration of 
Paul to reveal. But look where you will and you 
can see the way fraught with danger. A para- 
graph from Rev. M. Rhodes, D. D., is to the point 






TRUK MANHOOD. 25T 

just here. ■ Speaking of the multitude of young 

men who have nut realized these dangers in time 
to avert them, he says: "One is scarce more 
alarmed at the number in the toils of ruin than at 
the tardiness with which the imperiled learn the 
; each day furnishes. Hundreds refuse to 
learn at all : giving all advantage to the many 
of destruction, they open their eyes 
where they had better be closed, and close them 

where they should always be open. A- you have 

>een the ivy twine around the shattered timbers of 
:ted dwelling, so our young men grow up 
amid the ruins of other lives, but sadly indifferent 
such unspeakable disasters, and as 
Memingly blind to the sad results that hang all 
about them, just as the fragments of men lie 
strewn upon a battlefield. Here is one who be- 
■ :st : the secret place of his plunder is 
found out, and he blows his brains out. Ib-re is 
another, led on by unholy love of place and power, 
thrust down to the blackened in- 
famy of a poor deui pine away in guilty 
r curse theday he was bom. Here is 
bimself up to sensuality, 
until, lower th.m the bc.ist>, his heart and brain are 



252 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

as foul as a nest of reptiles. Here is another who 
from tippling has come to be a drunkard, and hav- 
ing already reeled out of all respectable service and 
society, he reels on until crime and death overtake 
him, and to parents or wife and children he com- 
mits the painful legacy of a blasted life and mem- 
ory. Of these how great is the army in all our 
cities ! and daily they die, and daily they are rein- 
forced. The ways and consequences of evil have 
been clearly shown, and it would seem that the 
young men would but need to open their eyes to 
learn wisdom, and to escape the perils that beset 
them on every hand. The appeal to reason alone, 
one would think sufficient to guard the steps and 
shield the character of men from the evils that de- 
stroy ; but withal the ranks fill up as fast as they 
diminish." 

In view of this status of things, Paul's charge to 
the Corinthian people sounds like a battle charge. 
Ah ! It is one. It discerns the enemy over yonder 
fort, and the many dangers lying before it. It 
views the great field on which life comes to its 
grandest victories or suffers its most sorrowful de- 
feats. This great apostle, standing upon the high- 
est battlements of eternity, and as God's watchman 
viewiucr the scene with its eternal issues, and 






TRUE MANHOOD. 253 

1 by inspiration of the Holy Ghost, has 
sounded the warning voice down along the ages, 
tch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like 
men, be strong." This charge in itself is inspi- 
ring, and calculated to beget among his hearers a 
righteous enthusiasm, a desire to be somebody, 
omething worthy of commendation. In 
short, the injunction appeals to our better nature 
and holier aspirations. 

ry young man has aspirations— some high, 

others not 50 high. But all have aspirations. 

inherent factors by generation. True, 

I develop into perspicuity in every one, 

neither do all the blossoms of trees develop into 

fruit. Nevertheless the blossom containing the 

: was there. And so with our aspirations. 

a is not simply a desire t«- be somebody, 
ins by which we become somebody, 

m," said tile late Heedler, " means ten- 
dril twining, or anything else by which one climbs 
Upward, holding 00 by the way to whatever will 
•' it while a higher reach is being nude. 

i hold by twining around, some by 

little roots, some by tendrils, some by hook . 
•ome byl hors. Bui all 

of staying 



254 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

where they take hold, but only as a stay from 
which they may climb higher. And so it is with 
man's aspirations. We grasp things above us by 
every part of our nature, one after another, not for 
the sake of remaining there, but that we may reach 
yet higher." And hence our first counsel is, 

Be true to your aspirations. Be true to the in- 
tuitive desires of your better nature. Your aspira- 
tions unconsciously rise to a high standard of man- 
hood. We look with admiration upon any one 
actuated by these principles of true manhood. He 
commands universal respect. Friends cluster about 
him in multitudes. And sometimes, I fear, we 
almost feel unduly proud that God has created us 
with such strong capabilities, and with such grand 
possibilities before us. This is true to the extent 
that even the most vile almost envy the lot of 
those who are true to their intuitive desire and 
aspirations. All aspire to true manhood, and are 
never fully satisfied without it. And while it is 
not possible for all to rise to positions of public 
trust and honor, it is possible for all to rise to the 
honor and dignity of a true gentleman. True 
manhood is within the reach of all. Your aspira- 
tions rise to that altitude. Be true to them. 

But this counsel from Paul involves two general 



TRl'K MANHOOD. 

ideas, viz.; character wcA action. Both are essen- 
tial to true manhood. " Character," one has well 
" is the goal of man's intuitive desires — of his 
i rations — and gives tone to his action. 
: on the other hand gives strength to char- 
acter." And the reader will readily see that while 
it is possible t<> have action without character, 
Is have that) that on the other hand character 
without action is absolutely impossible and un- 
known. The important question therefore is, how 
shall we so guide and control our actions as to re- 
alize the end of "ur aspirations in the attainment 
of the principles and character of true manhood? 
from the Bible God has given us an excel- 
ode of law, written in every man's heart — I 
mean conscience. It is so excellent that Cod has 
said in His word (Rom. ii. [4) that "they which 

no law are a law UUtO themselves." Hence 

vet is not in perfect accord with that law — 
repulsive to OUT Letter natures, to our 

intuitu — whatever conscience con- 

inly not conducive to our standard 

of trip And, . . whatever is in 

I with cor God 1 law in our heart- - 

is jn • lucive i" true manhood. 

noting a few things of a negative char- 



256 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

acter — things which are repulsive to our intuitive 
ideas of true manhood — will perhaps direct our 
minds to proper conceptions of the positive quali- 
ties of true manhood. And let it be noted 

1. That indolence is intuitively regarded as a 
stigma upon mankind. Ever since God said to our 
first parents " in the sweat of thy face shalt thou 
eat bread," industry — the opposite of indolence 
— has been the world's motive power. It is the 
busy men who keep the world moving. It is the 
bus}- men who sustain society, and who project the 
progress in our business circles. It is the busy 
men who are leading the world in the progress of 
civil and religious liberty. But the lazy man is 
always full of trouble. He is never content with 
himself or with his lot in life. And he never suc- 
ceeds. He has fault to find with every one but 
himself, and is the most miserable man on earth. 
Besides being a burden to himself, he is a real pest 
to society. The multitude of tramps that are a 
curse to our land, and a blotch upon the fair name 
of our country, is but the fruitage of indolence. 
The very idea of indolence is repulsive to the prin- 
ciples of true manhood, and a sure introduction to 
worse things. It is the gateway downward. Dr. 
Timothy Dwight, in giving his observations on 



TRUE MANHOOD. 2^7 

this point says: " Among all those who, within my 
knowledge, have appeared to recover sincerely 
penitent and reformed, I recollect only a single 
lazy man, and this man became industrious from 
the moment of his apparent, and I doubt not, real 
Conversion." This is but one of a multitude of 
from men of large pastoral experience, 
and observation on the same point. 

The late Dr. \\'i>e describes the idle young man 
thus; •• His place in society is aptly illustrated by 
certain books in a Boston library, which are let- 
tered :<u»r on their backs. ' Sueeeda- 
nenm." exclaims the visitor, 'what sort of a book 

IS that? 1 Down it comes; when lo! a Wooden 
block, .shaped just like a book, is in his hands. 
Then he understands the meaning of the title to 

be 'in the place of another;' and that the wooden 
is used to fill vacant places, ami to keep 
genuine volumes ftuin falling into confusion. 
Such is an idler in society; a man in form, but a 
block in fact; living for no high or noble end; a 
Of blessing to nobody — not even to 

i dumb, despised * Succedaneum x among 

mankind." 

And hen lude that the indolent man is 

I-nigh hop- , and that he who despises 

'7 



258 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

honorable industry, however hard he may try to be 
respectable, is a reproach to his Creator, a reflection 
upon his kind, and a drag on society that merits 
punishment and utter abatement. Indolence is 
quick consumption to every principle of true man- 
hood. For, just as inactivity undermines the 
physical constitution and begets weakness and 
disease, so indolence undermines the whole consti- 
tion of man's higher nature and leaves him an 
intellectual and moral wreck. Young men, awake! 
"Quit you like men, be strong." 

But it will be noted 

2. That inferior society is likewise repulsive to 
our better natures. People generally have very 
crude conceptions of the power of social influences. 
And young men in particular seldom if ever re- 
alize the influence which society is wielding over 
them. No doubt the reader is familiar with the 
English proverb, "Tell me the company you keep, 
and I'll tell you who you are. Tell me with 
whom thou goest, and I'll tell thee what thou 
doest" And still more familiar with the Spanish 
proverbs: "He that goes with wolves learns to 
howl" — "He that lies down with dogs gets up 
with fleas." However familiar and common-place 
these sayings may seem, they contain more truth 



Tklh MANHOOD. 259 

than is ordinarily placed to their credit. We look 
upon the society of the indolent and rude, and how 
•rag- their conduct! And yet how frequently 
we langtl at their folly and then fall into line with 
them. But to be true to yourselves — to your in- 
tuitive aspirations — you must shun evil associa- 
te of the wicked one's most fruitful 
>n. ire-. lie friendly to all, and ever reach' to be a 
benefactor to the vilest. But enter the society and 
make bosom companions of those only whose lives 
are pure and good, Solomon did not speak at 
n when he said ( Prow xiii. 20), "He that 
walketh with wise men shall be wise, but the com- 
panion of f.ois shall be destroyed.* 1 Put to insure 
your safety and to realize the light of your purest 
ambitions you need to reject the society of the 
iun tlie agreeable infidel and the accom- 
plished profligate; lay it down as a fixed ink- that 

rilliancy of connection, no allurement of 
rank or fashion, that no affected agreeablen< 

aid, no wit or Battery, shall tempt you to 
ite with those "I" their kind. Make this an 

ute rule and you will have a Job's hedge built 

tity is another matter that is extremely 
lenient "i principle of refine* 



26o AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

ment. This is one of those foul habits of life 
which will bring shame upon any countenance. 
And it is one of the direct fruits of evil associa- 
tions. There are some sins for which there is no 
excuse whatever. They are not a source of pleas- 
ure, are no special luxury or source of comfort in 
any sense; but they come by sheer force of habit. 
Profanity is one of that kind. And it is one of 
those fearful sins which God will punish in the 
fullness of his wrath. He has not said in vain, 
"Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy 
God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guilt- 
less that taketh his name in vain." Nay, he 
means it all, and yet, notwithstanding the fact 
that our very natures revolt from it, and that con- 
science condemns it, nay, that God has placed his 
curse upon it — notwithstanding all this, what a 
common sin profanity is! The time has now come 
when it really seems fashionable with a certain 
class of young men to swear. But let us not forget 
that it is not always manly to be in fashion. Bet- 
ter far be true to yourselves and to him who holds 
in the balance your eternal interests, than bend to 
the silly rules of fashion. Contrary to every law 
of refinement, a fatal blotch upon character, a 
heinous sin before God, profanity is one of those 



TRUE MANH< K>D. 201 

disreputable things to be treated with utter con- 
tempt by all respectable people. It will defile any 
man's heart, spoil bis character, and demoralize all 
his noblest aspirations. Young men, let not this 
fearful sin beguile you; "quit you like men, be 
stroi 

Rut we note just one more of those negative 
repulsive features in life so dangerous and fatal to 
the interests of young nun : 

4. Intemperance. To the intelligent and re- 
fined nothing is more revolting than drunkenness. 
Kven the drunkards regard themselves with shame 
in their hours of sobriety. It is said of a promi- 
nent lawyer in the east, that when a young man, 
b'cted to the use of Strong drink. While 
-late of drunkenness and dissipation he was 
tumbling and wallowing in tin- gutter, and while 

impanions engaged in .1 seem- of 

and shame about him, an artist by means 

sketch took the young man's picture, 
including tin- whole scene. Before bis 

ery to sobriety he fell into one of those terrible 

lelirium tremens.' 1 While in this 
lition the artist again did ample justice 

At length the w: with 

all its surroundings was photograph 



262 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

his recovery to sobriety and a right mind, the artist 
called upon the young man, saying, "Mr. — , I 
have some pictures here I wish to show you." 
"Ah, indeed," replied the sobered man, "I shall 
look at them with pleasure." He viewed the pic- 
tures with more than ordinary care and scrutiny. 
In the one he saw the subject wallowing in the 
gutter amid a scene of revelry and shame, his hair 
disheveled, his garments all torn, and rolled in 
mud and filth. In the other he saw the subject 
now tossing in bewilderment and agony, then 
madly rushing hither and thither about the room ; 
now bruising and mangling his fists against the 
wall, supposing himself in a combat with one of his 
fellows ; then in a fit of fright trying to climb the 
very walls to escape "the old fellow" hard upon 
his heels. As the young man thus viewed the 
subject of this heart-rending scene, his eyes per- 
sistently said, "Thou art the man." At length, 
overcome with conviction, and in deep agony of 
soul, he cried, " I have been the fool, and rum the 
mocker, but God helping me I will bid adieu to 
the use of rum." The man's sight of himself was 
enough. And so it is alike revolting to all. But 
alas ! how few take warning from the scenes about 
them. The sin of intemperance is the climax of 



TRUE MANHOOD. 263 

those just mentioned. It is the natural bent of 
mind to go from bad tu worse. It is the pro- 
gramme of too many of onr yonng men to begin 
their ill-fated COUIse with indolence; thence fall 
into bad associations, and there contract the evil 
of profanity and intemperance; thence 
launch into * it may be from the gallows 

ternity. < > what a terrible sin that of intem- 
perance is! The weak and the strong alike fall 
victim* irful rage Some young men have 

the idea that it is a mark of manliness and dignity 
to smoke and chew and drink. But be assured, my 
yonng friends, that there is nothing either dignified 
or admirable in either. They are among those 
ing and disreputable factors in life to be 
shunned at all hazards. And the only safe basis 
of treatment in either case is, " Touch not, taste 
not, handle not." 

Hut another matter in onr text claiming onr at- 
tention is 

Dt ' n. 

This charge of Paul bristles with snap and de- 
ll means a stirring, busy life. Haul had 
with drones. And < rod has no 
m in his kingdom. And even the 

them. Hence this charge, " Quil 



264 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

you like men, be strong," has a business as well 
as a religious ring about it. And as a matter of 
fact we find that only the busy, stirring life is blest 
with true success. This has been a principle by 
which man has determined his success or failure, 
his weal or woe, ever since God said to our first 
parent, "by the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat 
bread." Industry has therefore become a funda- 
mental principle to success in life, not by any arbi- 
trary law of man, but in consequence of his diso- 
bedience it became a part of the divine economy. 

But the thought we desire more particularly to 
impress upon the reader's mind is that of decisive 
action. There is nothing more dangerous or disas- 
trous to success in life than an undecided and 
negative sort of disposition. He who never knows 
when and what he wants or ought to do, will never 
turn the world upside down. It is decided and 
positive action that makes the mark. The same 
principle is also true of our decision of right and 
wrong. To parley with sin is half way yielding 
to it. On the other hand, prompt and decided 
obedience to your honest convictions is more than 
half the conquest. "Order," it is said, "was 
heaven's first law." But decisive action was the 
basis of that law, and should be one of the first 



TRUE MANHOOD. 265 

principles in the great law of life. The parleying 
of our fir>t parents with the devil led them to dis- 
obedience ; and that disobedience has engulfed the 
human race in sin and ruin. Wry often a posi- 
tive " yes M or " no " saves a deal of trouble and 
sorrow, and sometimes the most signal failures It 
is indeed no small accomplishment to be able to 
sitively " yes* 1 or "no" at the proper time. 

I >■ it reader, let me impress upon your attention 
the importance of decisive action on your part in all 
matters involving moral principles. In all such 
the only safe way is a prompt and decided 
• your intuitive convictions of right and 
wrong. Decided action is one of your best safe- 
gua: 

Hut the apostle in his charge "quit yon like 
men " at least imp". 

•I'l-.k EQUIPMENTS 

for the attainment of this end. Pot every depart- 
ment of life certain equipments are necessary. 

And this is especially true in the attainment of the 
end had in view by the apostle — a state where 

ind faculty, and po? being 

It to be brought into such < is to bring 

the true man. For character is not an attribute. 



266 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

but an acquirement. Hence as the elements of 
character are fundamental principles in the devel- 
opment of true manhood, the equipments for the 
one must also enter the other. We can mention 
only a few of these essentials or equipments in the 
attainment of true manhood. 

i. Intelligence. — Illiteracy in this day of literary 
advantages in ordinary cases is a stigma upon 
humanity. God created man as an intelligent 
creature, and gave him endowments peculiar to 
himself. Aside from the advantages of our com- 
mon schools, academies and colleges, literature 
like rivers of water is flowing over our land. But 
the important question is not how much shall we 
read ? but what shall we read? This is the all- 
important matter. The term intelligence has be- 
come much perverted. The present idea of intelli- 
gence seems to be to know something about every- 
thing in print. But this is a false and pernicious 
idea of the term, Real intelligence does not con- 
sist so much in knowing something about every- 
thing, as in knowing much about some things. 
Mind culture does not consist so much in the 
quantity of literature perused as in the quality, the 
way it is read, and the amount of useful knowl- 
edge really acquired. Adam and Eve were wiser 



TRUB MANHOOD. 

but decidedly worse off after they had acquired a 
know I ood and evil than before. So the 

reading of inferior literature is not mental culture; 

neither does it contribute to any one's store of 
useful kn> \ neither is the fact of having 

read it a mark of increased intelligence. But on 
the contrary, the reading of inferior and trashy lit- 
erature demoralizes instead of culturing the mind, 
iation of the pure and 
r type of literature, and unfits the whole man 
fur real lit n. Hence the importance of 

the Utmost care in the selection of reading matter. 
Without this a high standard of intelligence is 
next \>> impossible. (The world affords such an 
unlimited stores of the most chaste, scholarly and 

helpful literature that one can ill afford to waste 

any of his time in the perusal of inferior reading 

I k first of all to get the 

Literature possible ; then t<> read slowly, 

'. xtfully and systematically. A famous lecturer 

id: "The bane of America is reading 

V." Another in the same strain 

the lines" Suffice 

that the best literature well read will 

nd develop the intellectual and 

nothing else can '■ 



268 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

has set his seal upon the value of books, and set us 
the example in giving us the first and best book. 
And then said, " Search the Scriptures." 

Our hogs, horses and cattle are valued by their 
amount of flesh and their general appearance, but 
man is graded according to his intellectual and 
moral worth. This is developed by good books as 
by nothing else. With good books we are with the 
wise and good, and thereby growing better. Their 
very thought becomes ours, and their wholesome 
influence permeates our whole nature, operates 
upon every faculty, and stimulates our aspirations 
to better things. 

2. Another element in the development of true 
manhood is the careful culture of natural endow- 
ments. 

God has a place for every young man. And 
every young man has a place for himself. By cul- 
tivating natural talent natural preferences will 
assert themselves. And thus he will naturally fall 
into his proper place. It is not the mechanical but 
the natural skill which renders proficiency in ser- 
vice. This culture should be begun and carefully 
watched by the parents, taken up as a personal 
matter by the youth, and most carefully guarded 
and pushed by the young man. 



TRli. MANHOOD. 

The idea, cherished by some parents, and by 

many young men, that when school work is done, 
and manhood is fully reached, it will be time enough 
to think about a life vocation or business, is dan- 

- and pernicious. When men breed horses, 
as the COltS Come on, and near the time lor .service, 
the owner studiously asks what is this and that 

ood for? — a draft horse, a roadster, or what? 
don and physical adaptability are care- 
fully considered, and he is trained accordingly. 

Hut what of the boy t dive less attention to his 
sition, natural preferences and physical adap- 
tability than to the prancing and rollicking colt? 

Shame on the idea ! This is injustice to the son 
and wicked in the sight of God. The divine in- 
junction "train Uj> a child in the way he should 

much. Parents, carefully watch and 
study your pons ; boys, carefully study yourselves ; 

tefully cultivate and follow the bent 

itural talent. This rule scrupulously 

studied and heeded, and we will have mOTC 

in all the varied departments ol 

fluctuating from one to another 

.'., less men unemployed, and far less 

tramps and v :n our land. In order, 

10 be able to comply with the apostle'l 



270 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

injunction, " Quit you like men, be strong," it is 
of paramont importance to look well to the culture 
of natural talents. 

3. The renewing of your natures by the Holy 
Ghost and the work of grace, is the crowning work 
in the formation and development of true man- 
hood. 

Human nature, once a little lower than the 
angels, has fallen into a sad state of depravity. 
Paul clearly but painfully realized this fact among 
the Corinthian people ; and in his charge " Quit 
you like men " looked beyond the natural to the 
renewed man. For it requires the culture of all 
man's endowments — natural and spiritual — to form 
a symmetrical whole, and to enable him to reach 
out to the full length of his possibilities. Rev. M. 
Valentine, D. D., LL.D., in his baccalaureate ad- 
dress for 1877, well said : "It is vain to dream of 
doing life's work in only the wreck of your powers 
— the mental ray obscured and confused, the loves 
of the heart in fetters to evil, the will in rebellion 
against duty, and the nerves of strength cut more 
than half in two. The war vessel is not prepared 
for honorable achievements, going forth to the 
perilous encounters of the high seas, with timbers 
rotten and riddled, with guns spiked, masts blown 



TRUE MAX HOOD. 27 r 

and helm broken. The deep, disabling 
hurt of your nature must be healed, the enthralled 
en back to freedom, quickened into real 
life, renewed into orderly and victorious power. 
The recovery provided for human nature, restoring 
it into the divine image, returns manhood to man } 
and man to hinisi If. As a requisite ntoTi essential 
than all other requisite* for your true character^ 
men } yon must be true Christ- 
the one thing needful, without 
which your life, whatever may be the achieve- 
ments in which it may spend its energies, will fail 

its true work, and in the issue it will prove 

' Ukc ihipfl that tailed t">>r sunny li 
Hm never came t'» ihore 

Ug man, the possibilities Of true y Christian 

wan//.;'/, in all its glory, are before you. They are 

unmeasured: Pot "there is always room at the 

•ir motto ever be, " < Inward ! up- 
Like the vine that holds and reaches, 

and holds and r< .idles, until in triumph it has 

wound from the ground to the utmost 

branch «»:' the majestic tnr, BO hold on with one 
hand to \our present position while 
: up with the other. M 



272 AROUND THE HOME TABLE 

stepping stone for another. Be encouraged to 
leave the base things of earth, and step by step, 
and reach over reach, to rise higher and higher in 
the glory of your manhood, until at last, when the 
top of the Delectable Mountains of life shall have 
been reached, in songs ot triumph you may gather 
there the crowns of victory, and step across on the 
shining shore of eternity to enjoy them forever 
and ever in thefiullglory of your true— your sancti- 
fied and glorified — manhood. 



CHAPTER XII. 
TKi-i- womanhood: or a talk fob voung 

WOMEN. 

" < >h, woman ' in our hour of ease 
ad hard to ; 
Ami variable ;is the shade 
By the light-quivering aspen made ; 
When pain sad anguish wring the i>row 
A^ninistering angel thou ! 

The work of creation was about complete when 
id, It is not good that man 
should be alone. I will make a help-meet for 
him." Gen. ii. 18. While the divine purpose 
in tin woman is not very explicitly 

genera] way several things at least are 
implied: First, that God created her for a com- 
panion li.r man— " it is not good that Ik- .should be 
And -partner in the busy 

this lift — " I will make- an help-meet for 
Mm." Paul, ; on this bu1 or. xL 

• tli- man was not of the woman, 

hut the woman <-:' the man ; neither was tin- 



274 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

man created for the woman, but the woman for the 
many Hence, whatever else may have entered 
into the divine purpose in her creation, this one 
thing is clear — she was created for 

The Amelioration of Man. 

" 'Tis hers to soothe the ills below 
And bid life's fairer views appear." 

Some people have very strange notions indeed 
about the true province of woman — her duties, 
privileges, rights, influence and possibilities. 
Some have cherished the idea — perhaps derived 
from the term "help-meet" — that she was created 
for purely household and other manual service — in 
short, to be a slave to man. This idea is of heathen 
origin. Household duties, it is true, are included 
in her sphere of usefulness, but in the providence 
of God this has proven only the humbler part in 
her sphere of life's duties. Christian civilization 
has given woman a more honorable place in the 
home, in society and in the Church, than that of a 
household slave. It has placed her where God 
purposed she should be — truly a help-meet for 
man. Notwithstanding the fact that Robert In- 
gersoll has declared the Bible the woman's tyrant, 
no book or set of books has ever done so much for 



TRUE WOMANHOOD. 275 

tlit- amelioration of woman, and to cause her 
proper relation to man to be recognized and hon- 
ored, as the Bible. F< r confirmation of this 
ment we need only look into India, Japan, Africa, 
or into any other heathen land, and compare the 
condition of woman in these lands with her condi- 
tion in our own land — the land of Bibles and of true 
civil and religious liberty. A single observation 
will prove to the satisfaction of any person of intel- 
ligence and candor that the assertion of this mod- 
ern blasphemer is a preposterous absurdity. In 

onr own land, as in no other, woman enjoys hei 
proper liberty, has the privilege to enjoy her 
in her proper sphere with be- 
coming dignity and honor, in proportion as she 
i the means of qualification. In 

•.her land, is woman assuming the 
attitude of a true "help-meet" for man, and that 

in propo rti on as she embraces the opportunities, 

and uses the means, which the Bible has placed at 

immand But it is said that according t<> the 

:' nature water can never rise above its level. 

• 'a the membei - of human society. It i^ well, 

therefore, that we • 

: ue womanhood. 



276 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

Woman is susceptible of many and wonderful de- 
velopments. With her acute mental conceptions, 
and her keen moral sensibilities, she has placed 
within her reach possibilities peculiar to herself. 

In the minds of some people the ideal woman is 
expressed in what they are pleased to call " Re- 
finement^ And what strange ideas they have 
of "refinement!" In their minds a beautiful 
form, dressed in silk or other costly attire, with a 
pretty face under a canopy of frizzes of their own 
or other hair, and folded about them a pair of lily- 
white hands unused only to the touch of musical 
instruments, constitute refinement. Admit it that 
some of these features add greatly to the attrac- 
tions of women, but they have nothing whatever to 
do with true refinement. In this, other and more 
fundamental principles are involved. In our 
minds true refinement embraces at least three 
elements of character, viz.: intelligence, industry, 
and the grace of God. 

There has been a time that it was thought 

" Where ignorance is bliss 
'Tis folly to be wise." 

but the progress of time has effected a resurrec- 
tion of thought on this subject. We are living in 



TKTli \V< >MANH< »OD. 

a literary age — in a time when genuine intelli- 
gence is appreciated, and when not'. ^nally 
blights womanly dignity and true refinement as 

ace. 

The term intelligence is comprehensive, and in- 

dud< - : 

i. A proper knowledge of household duties. As 

: the house, woman can only he 

the situation by having a general and 

11 its duties. "And with 

one has said, "woman becomes the queen 

of the home; without it she becomes its servant." 

But intelligence embraces more than this, 

2. I: in tudes literary culture. By this we do 
not mean 'ion alone ; nor a general 

knowledge of the different classes and grades of 

ture; nor yet a familiarity witli that cli 
common, trashy literature so abundant in our 
land, which steals away your time, wastes your 

aid make- ha\ ar mental 

I '.at by literary culture we mean that 

training and development of mind to lit 

■ least any of the ordinary vocations of 
r with the constant use and 
I 
culture for mind and heart as well. Tl 



278 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

prepare the mind by proper development, and the 
inculcation of certain fundamental principles, not 
alone to fill certain vocations in life, but also to 
properly read and glean from the best literature 
of our land. It is this which properly develops 
the mind, inspires original thought, and invig- 
orates man's whole being. Without this 

"Your mind shall sink, a blighted flower, 
Dead to the sunbeam and the shower — 
A broken gem, whose inborn light 
Is scattered ne'er to reunite." 

In this age of education and literature, every 
advantage is offered to woman to rise to the honor 
and dignity of true womanhood, and, in her proper 
sphere, to be co-equal with man ; and to be, in the 
true sense, a help-meet for him. 

But there is a dangerous tendency confronting 
us just now. It is of heathen origin. It is the 
tendency toward caste distinctions. Among the 
heathen, woman usually occupies one of two 
extremes — either that of abject servitude, or that 
of indolent aristocracy — either one of which 
thwarts the very purpose of her creation. The 
very principles of refinement are lost, and every 
element of her nature dwarfed in either of these 
extremes ; and there is a strong tendency in our 



TRUB WOMANHOOD. 

land toward these extremes. On the one hand, 

we have a class of women unduly taxed with 

than nominal wages. On the other 

hand, there is a class who while away their time 

olence, indolence and luxury. And each of 

tlie>e extremes contribute largely to the fallen 

:i of onr land. They are a fruitful source of 

sin, and ruinous to public health and morals. And 

for this tendency the only remedy is intelligence — 

genuine literary culture. 

3. Industry. It is not only important to know 

how to do a thin-, but to profit by the exercise in 

said to our first parents, u By the 

of thy face shalt thou eai bread." In this 

■ is found a fundamental principle of life — a 

pie which affects both the health and morals 

nkind — and without which we cm not live 

out the full measure of out usefulness in life. 

There in inherent qualities in the human 

constitution which are dependent upon activity for 

development I do not believe that God made in- 

a part <»f the curse in consequence of the 

fall ; but that sin simply intensified the labor, in 
that thorns and thistles will now t. inl- 

and must b»- ro,,tcd out < rod hii 
us the example of industry in t!; 11— He 



280 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

labored six days and rested the seventh. Our 
Lord said, "I must be about my Father's busi- 
ness," and "I must do the will of him that sent 
me." And are we better than He in whose image 
we were created ? 

All are familiar with the saying " Cleanliness is 
next to godliness." And so it is. But of industry 
we may just as properly say, " it is a part of godli- 
ness." For it is one of the first external marks or 
evidences of a Christian life. The heathen, as a 
rule, are a lazy people. But as they wake up to 
see and enjoy the light of Christ, their lethargy be- 
gins to succumb to activity, and, as they grow in 
the divine life, they become habitually more in- 
dustrious. And this is but the external manifesta- 
tion of the divine principle within. 

Some centuries ago, a man residing in Egypt 
became a convert to the Christian faith. The 
spirit of the times favored asceticism ; and he, 
being of a contemplative mind, conceived the un- 
natural idea, that if he could retire from society, 
and spend his time in contemplation, he should 
attain to the perfection of human happiness on 
earth. Filled with this thought, he bade adieu to 
the abodes of men, wandered far into the desert, 
selected a cave, near which flowed a spring, for his 



TRUE WOMANH< •■ >D. 28] 

home, the scanty crops of roots 

and herbs which sprang up spontaneously in the 
adjacent glens and valleys, began his life of medi- 

aud prayer. He had not spent many m 
in his hermitage before his heart grew miserable 

I endurance. The loiii^ and weary hours of 
tlie day, ami the dreary, interminable nights, op- 
ed and crushed his listless soul. In the ex- 
his wretchedness he fell upon his face 
and cried, " Father, call home thy child ! Let me 
r am weary of life!" Thus stricken with 
grief, he fell asleep ; and in his vision an angel 
re him ami said: "Cut down the palm 
tree that gTOWS by your spring, and of its fibres 

ruct a rope." The vision passed away, and 

the hermit awoke with a resolution to fulfill his 

m. But he had no ax, and therefore jour- 
neyed far to secure one. On his return he felled 
the tree, and diligently labored till its fibres lay at 
ruled into a coil of rope. Again the 
angel him in a vision and said : 

I are now no longer weary of life, 
but yon are happy. Know, then, that in. m was 
LOOT, and that this, with prayer, consti- 
tute hi- principal duties. Both are essential to 
happitl ' to the world with this 



282 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

rope girded about thy loins, as a memorial of what 
God has done for thee. 

This incident needs no comment. It simply 
illustrates a divine principle, so essential to human 
happiness, and without the exercise of which no 
woman can become a true help-meet for man. 
Combine intelligence and industry, and we have 
the two more essential human elements in char- 
acter. But there is another element of character 
essential to both your happiness and efficiency in 
your particular sphere in life, which rises above 
intelligence and industry as the divine does above 
the human. Hence I mention 

4. The Grace of God, as the crowning element 
in the development of true womanhood. 

Of man it has been said (Ps. viii. 5 ; Heb. ii. 7, 
9), "For thou hast made him a little lower than 
the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and 
honor." Of woman one has said, "She is an 
angel of mercy," and God has said (Prov. xix. 14), 
" A prudent wife is from the Lord." Marvellous 
as is the change effected in any human life by a 
genuine work of the grace of God, in the woman 
whose mind and body have received proper culture 
it is doubly conspicuous. However brilliant her 
mind may be, and gentle and refined her habits of 



TRUE WOMANHOOD. 

race of God will add to the keenness of 

its conceptions and brilliancy of its reflection 

n her temper and habits, and give strength 

and beauts- to her character. An illustration may 

the point here. It is said of Michael Angelo 

that as he was walking one day through an obscure 

in Florence, he saw a crude block of marble 
neglected in a yard, half buried in the debris. 

Indifferent to company and apparel, he set to 

work to clear away the rubbish, and to rescue the 

from its filthy surroundings. His com- 

I on with a->toni>hment and asked 

him what he wanted with that worthless piece of 

rock. "Oh," said he, "there is an angel in that 

and I must get it out." The marble was 

taken to his Studio, and after hard and patient 

he brought forth the angel. And in that act 

in the niche of fame that reflects 
• upon his name to day. 
Voc: in your immature state you are 

IS that crude block of marble amid the rub- 
bish. The culture of your mind and bodies is to 
your attitude in life what th< t*s chisel was to 

th.it marbl And tin < ;.>d is to 

what the polishing pr< ■ to the 

>f that angel It took the artist's chisel 



284 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

to bring out the form of the angel. It takes the 
culture of mind and body to bring out the natural 
talents of woman. It took the polishing process to 
bring out the perfections of expression and beauty 
in that angel. So it takes the grace and Spirit 
of God to bring forth the perfections of refined 
womanhood. 

Thus combining intelligence, industry, and the 
grace of God, we have a grand, symmetrical system 
of culture — culture for mind, culture for the body, 
and culture for the heart. And that woman who, 
with God's own illumination in her mind, her heart 
filled with His infinite love, and her life seasoned 
with His grace, and who is best able to see hang- 
ing on the retreating cloud the bow with which 
God has spanned the life and destiny of her sex, 
and standing under its emerald arch is thrilled with 
gratitude, and moved to highest endeavor, is best 
qualified to instruct, inspire, ennoble and lead 
those of her kind. 

At this juncture a word to the parents will not 
come amiss. Do not be afraid of injuring the 
minds of your daughters in obtaining a liberal 
education, nor their bodies by exercise in the 
ordinary household duties, nor yet be afraid of 
humility in commending your daughters to Christ. 



TRUE WOMANHO >D. 

This is not consistent with the popular idea of 
ind dancing parties, it is true. But give your 
daughters careful literary, physical and spiritual 
culture and the balance will j^o by unenvied. 
Further, should your daughter fall in an un- 
guarded hour, do not cast her away, as too many 
patents have done. But with a mother's hand of 
lift her up, and offer her a father's hand of 
protection. »t CTUel customs of our 

land is that of I parents offering kindness 

and protection to almost any kind of a son, even 
though he be a reprobate. But a daughter falls, 

and she becomes a cast-away. Xot that we would 

care le^s foT the sons, but more for tin- daughters. 
The .sous who are Inst, able t<> care for themselves 
are helped and protected, even at tlu- hazard of 
home ; but the well nigh helpless 
daughters D the ma u un- 

friendly world. And thus we furnish daily re- 
cruits for the disreputable institutions «>i" our land. 
i's most important lessons v. 

this j>oint. John viii : } i i. 

:>-U from the ways th.it are purr — 

•i held bet i 

be might « ham < • 
Hut lh<- I'll. frown ; 



2c6 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

They brought her to court in the presence of Christ, 

And asked Him that death He command, 
But He only knelt down, and with fingers so pure 

Wrote silently there in the sand. 

" The throng was so eager they asked him again, 

They felt that their work must be done, 
And Christ, looking up from his tablet of dust, 

Said, ' He that is pure cast the stone.' 
Not one in that throng was there left to condemn, 

They fled, for their souls were impure ; 
He finished his writing, and rising he said ; 

' Go, woman, and sin no more.' 

" To-day in our midst has some woman gone down, 

The Pharisees frown on her still, 
The world will but scorn should she try to reform, 

She is crushed by the burrs of the mill. 
How many to-day who believe on Him 

Are true to their word and their trust ? 
How many would turn when asked to condemn 

And silently write in the dust? 

" When the sin of a woman is written to-day, 

They trace it in marble and stone— 
The sin of a man is but written in dust— 

Ah ! isn't our labor well done ? 
Why do not they who profess to obey 

The precepts He left on this shore, 
When asked to condemn who hath fallen in sin, 

Say, 'Woman, go, sin thou no more ' ?" 

Let us then have culture of mind, culture of 



TkTK WOMANH< >OD. 287 

and culture of licart for our daughters, with 
proper protection, and we shall in a measure at 
:i to realize what jewels God has hid 
away in them. 

Hut from this let us briefly turn our attention to 

Tlu Influence and Possibilities of Woman, 

In the experience of the human race the in- 
fluence and possibilities of woman have never 
been fully and accurately measured. Ami we 
need not feel astonished at this fact. God lias 
given to women peculiar elements of power, which 
in His providence will be silently but surely 

wielded wherever the human conditions will ad- 
mit — I say silently, because these as a rule are 
the more potent \->h;l-<., and because of this are 
a peculiar element of her power. Thunder has 
<4re.1t facility for DOise — it rumbles and roars till 
tlu- eartli trembles to its very centre, but when its 

nimbi is most terrific it is, as a rule, the 

But the unseen and unheard oper- 
and influences of woman's power are sure 
and effectual. Love and purity, faith and godli- 
ness, arc quiet forces, but resistless as tin- i 
the planets. And she begins to wield tin-si- 

just where they prove ['. ; — 



288 AROUND THE HOME .TABLE. 

In the Home. 
The home is the centre — the focal point — from 
which these forces radiate. One has said, " The 
woman of Christian culture is to the home what 
the heart is to the human body, sending life, 
beauty, ambition and power with each pulsation 
into every member." While this is a strong state- 
ment, it nevertheless contains a vital truth. In 
the home the woman has her throne. Here she 
holds in her hands and enshrines in her heart the 
moral destiny of her race. God has peculiarly 
fitted woman by nature, and in His wisdom or- 
dained her the keeper of the home. And here by 
your hearth-stone and mine, is embosomed, as 
God's own sacred trust, the glory of the state and 
nation, the hope of the Church, and the destiny of 
the world. Dr. Holland, speaking of woman's 
power in the home, says: "Of this realm woman 
is the queen. It takes its cue and its hue from her. 
If she is in the best sense womanly — if she is true 
and tender, loving and heroic, patient and self- 
devoted — she unconsciously organizes and puts into 
operation a set of influences that do more to mould 
the destiny of the nations than any man or set of 
men, uncrowned by power or eloquence, can pos- 
sibly effect. The men of the nation are what their 



TkUK WOMANHOOD. 289 

mothers make them, as a rule. And the voice 
which these men speak in the expression of their 

power is the voice of tlie women who bore and bred 
them. " * As a nation we rise or fall as the 

character of our homes, presided over by women, 
* falls. And the best gauge of our best pros- 
perity is to be found in the measure by which these 
homes find multiplication in the land." John 
Qnincy Adams once said, "All I am my mother 

made me." Let the women of this land raise the 

standard of their homes to the full measure of their 
ability, aided by the -race and wisdom of God- 
let them place their standard where God would 
have it and where they alone can place it— and not 
only the prosperity, but the salvation of our nation 

llnigh secured. 

I what has been said of the influence and pos- 
sibilities of woman in the home is also true of them 

/// Society* 

ng friends, the reins of society are largely 

:: hands to guide whither you will. It is in 
your provifl p them firmly, and in your 

iven j-ow it onward to the heights 

of moral purity and prosperity, w holding them 

hurl it into the abyss of ruin forever. 



290 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

It is in your province largely to mould the habits of 
the young men of our land, and to fix the standard 
of their moral purity. Nay, it is in a measure in 
your province to fix their future destiny. It needs 
but the united voice and action of the young 
women of our land to circumscribe and subdue the 
power of tobacco and rum over the young men of 
our land. But you can not do this by circulating 
in their presence with a cud of gum in your 
mouth, or by setting a bottle of wine or rum before 
them when they call. But by coming before them 
in all the purity of person and character possible, 
and with the dignity of cultured womanhood, you 
at once command their respect and admiration. 
And as it will be for you to determine what shall 
be the character of those whose company you ac- 
cept, and as they must and will have your society, 
they will almost unconsciously labor to rise to the 
standard of moral and social purity which you 
have fixed, and respect you for having placed it so 
high. It thus lies within your power to become a 
potent factor in the formation of good society. 
Nay, more ! You are thus destined to become 
potent factors in the affairs of 



TRUE WOMANHOOD. 29I 

Our Government, 

Talk about " Woman's Rig/its/" Woman has 
all the rights now that she can use effectually. To 
give her more political right would weaken her 
moral sway in our land. Where has history re- 
corded a reform movement in our land which has 
not been directly or indirectly inaugurated by 
:: ? Who but woman brought to public gaze, 
in all its hideousness, the sin of slavery? Who 
but woman has given tone and an effectual impe- 
tus to the temperance movement of our land ? Ah ! 
in the language of the great Otway, "Woman has 
laid the foundations of empires, and more than 
once has hurled them to ruin. The empire that 
could boast a Babylon was founded by a woman — 

Scmiramis, tin- •■ the founder of Nineveh, 

overthrow of the Trojan commonwealth was 
■ no cause so much as t. ( the beauty ami per- 

: Helen." 
" What mighty ills hftVC n<>t been done by Women } 

Who w.ist betra y ed the cepitol ? A women ' 
Who I atony the world ] a women • 

Wh .1 long ten • 

And: Id Troy in eehee? Women I" 

■ -.our influi 



292 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

for weal or woe. Such are your possibilities. 
To what extent you will realize them will remain 
for you to determine. And I trust that you realize 
and appreciate, to some degree at least, the mo- 
mentous issues for human destiny God has vested 
in your lives. And woe to those of your kind, 
who with such advantages for development, and 
with such opportunities for the amelioration of 
their race, waste their time and strength in a mis- 
taken mission, or fritter away their splendid gifts 
in momentary pleasure, or the silly follies of show 
and fashion. But glorious will be the crown 
which God will give the faithful of your kind. 
Ah, how a thought like this should awaken your 
aspirations and inspire you to duty ! You need the 
mental, physical and moral culture to fit you to 
become efficient bread-winners, but for a higher 
and better reason, to fit you to enjoy the possibil- 
ities which God has placed within your reach. 
But to enjoy a crown sparkling full of the stars of 
glory, you need constantly to look to the hills 
whence cometh all strength. As you begin to as- 
cend the Delectable Mountains, you need to lift 
your eyes above and beyond the standard of 
human attainments to the highlands of glory, and 
there gather food for the mind, food for the soul, 



TRri-. WOMANHOOD. 293 

power with God and man in your daily service, 
and inspiration for your lives. Christ alone can 
truly mould your lives, inspire your hearts, and 
lead you into the sublime sphere of true woman- 
hood. But with him enshrined in your hearts and 

:r lives, the world is at your command. Oh, 
the Ulimitableness of which you are capable ! In 
the beings you are, and in the wide and varied 

a to which you have been appointed, what a 

throne God has set for yon ! What a sceptre he 

What a crown of glory 

lie has lifted to your brow ! O ! that He who has 

I woman by his incarnation may inspire you 
with the full measure of your in- 

fluence and possibilities ! 



CHAPTER XIII. 



MARRIAGE. 



" The joys of marriage are the heaven on earth, 
Life's paradise, great princes, the soul's quiet, 
Sinews of concord, earthly immortality, 
Kternity of pleasures." 

—John Ford's Broken Heart. 

The world had been formed and set in order. 
The six days work of creation was almost done, 
and God would put the climax on this stupendous 
project by leaving the impress of his own image in 
the last object in the catalogue of his creation. "So 
God created man in his own image/' "And God 
saw everything that he had made, and behold it was 
very good." But he said, " It is not good that man 
should be alone ; I will make an help-meet for him. 
* * * And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to 
fall upon Adam, and he slept. And he took one 
of his ribs and closed up the flesh instead thereof ; 
and of the rib which the Lord God had taken from 
the man, made he a woman, and brought her unto 
the man. * * * Therefore shall a man leave his 
father and mother, and cleave unto his wife, and 
(294) 



MAkki.v 295 

they shall be one flesh/' Thus God instituted the 
marriage relation. 

In this narrative we have the first marriage cere- 
mony — very simple, but as significant as it is sim- 
oificant, 
1. In that God has constituted man a social 
being, and "hence it was Dot good that man 
should be alone." Man was, therefore, a social as 
B a moral being. Deep down in the human 
heart is a want — a Longing — which can be satisfied 
it the hands of its Creator. And whatever 
course men may pursue in this life, that want still 
It can not be hid so deep under the rub- 
■: sin that its signal can not still be heard. 
Whatever men may .say iiinkr the impulse of a 
sinful heart and a skeptical mind, that want exists 
.1 insists on recognition. [1 

God — breathed into man at his creation — andean 
only by communion with (iod. Pre- 
cisely >o in man nature. God constituted 
him a social being. And as the son] can be satis- 
only b> communion with a mding 
spiritual being, bo the social nature can be satisfied 

only ;• :ig social being. God 1 : 

this want, and would satisfy it in the creation of 

Ututioii it was 



296 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

not good that man should be alone. When God 
said, "I will make an helpmeet for him," he pro- 
posed to supply man with an absolute essential to 
human society and happiness. To rob man of 
society is to rob him of the greatest prize of earth. 
The glory of heaven will consist not alone in what 
we are, but as much in those with whom we are — 
the society of the unnumbered host of the redeemed, 
of angels and archangels, of cherubim and sera- 
phim, in the presence of the Triune God upon his 
throne. So Pope has written : 

" Heaven forming each on other to depend, 
A master, a servant, or a friend, 
Bids each on other for assistance call 
Till one man's weakness grows the strength of all. 
Wants, frailties, passions, closer still ally 
The common interest, or endear the tie. 
To these we owe true friendship, love sincere, 
Each home-felt joy that life inherits here." 

Likewise Milton has written; "Marriage is 
human society," and might have added "the 
fountain for the continued flow of human happi- 
ness. ' ' 

The object of marriage is twofold, viz., first the 
highest degree of human happiness consummated 
in human society. "It is not good for man to be 



MARRIACK. 297 

alone." And second, "to replenish the earth" — 

to continue to multiply the members of society. 
In each of these the wisdom and love of God is 
clearly demonstrated. And when the first of these 
objects is sought and developed through the proper 
channels with pure motives the second is fully 
1. One has well said, human society within 
muds of the divine purpose is man's greatest 
temporal blessing; but perverted and distorted by 
human passions is man'- greatest curse." 

Hut another significant fact in this first mar- 

2. That the relation established in this institu- 
tion is divine. Marriage is not a sacrament, as 

taught in the Romish church. lint by the mirac- 
• ttions of Cod a union was there insti- 

which i> as intimate and as intrinsically 
divine in the union of human hearts in marriage 

1 which unites our hearts to Christ for time 

and eternity. Hence God said, "And they shall 

:..- flesh." In view of this Paul has written 

(Eph. . "Wives, submit yourselves unto 

your own husbands, as unto the Lord. Por the hus- 
il tin- head of tin- wife, even as Christ is the 
if the Church. ■ ' Th- 'he- Church 

jr. t unto Christ, BO let the wives br to their 



298 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

own husbands in everything. Husbands, love 
your wives, even as Christ loved the Church, and 
gave himself for it, * * * so ought men to love 
their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth 
his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet 
hated his own flesh, but nourisheth and cherisheth 
it, even as the Lord the Church. For we are mem- 
bers of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For 
this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, 
and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two 
shall be one flesh." 

This is a figure in which the relation of husband 
and wife is likened to that between Christ and his 
Church. And the apostle does not try to explain it, 
but calls it "A great mystery:' We are so accus- 
tomed to associate marriage with the common busi- 
ness affairs of life that the popular tendency is to 
ignore the d i vine in its relation. And this tendency 
has no doubt been encouraged by the attitude of the 
State or civil law toward the marriage relation. 
This tendency has been encouraged not so much 
because of defects in the civil laws, as because of the 
popular abuse of the liberties granted in both the 
moral and civil laws. Under the present relations 
of Church and State, it is evidently clear that 
neither Church nor State can assume exclusive au- 



MARRIAGE. 299 

thority of marriage. For the Church has only ad- 
visory power, and can, at best, wield that effectu- 
ally only over its own adherents. And hence, it 
would seem necessary lor the State to interpose the 
Strong arm oi authority to compel obedience, or to 
inflict punishment. On the other hand, the State 
cannot take exclusive control of marriage, in that 
in its institution preeminence was given to the di- 
vine. While it is true in a measure that marriage 
ivil contract, it is true in a higher sense that 

the true marriage bears the .seal of the divine. 
And while it is true that the Church needs the help 
of the Stale, it is true in a higher and more impor- 
tant sense that the State needs the help of the 
Church to guard and maintain the sanctity of this 
divine institution. The abuse, therefore, of the 
present relations of Church and State in regard to 

tution has brought about the pres- 
ent tendency to depreciate the Bible doctrine of 
mmonly to ignore the divine in 

the institution. lint this tendency is such a fruit- 
vii and sin that it beho 

servant of Christ to proclaim plainly God's word 
and:: [arding it Any depreciation of the 

Bible doctrine of this institution ifl the 

avenue to moral decay and domestic corruption. 



300 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

A proper recognition, therefore, of the divine in 
the institution, and of the sanctity of the relations 
in marriage are essential to the purity of the home. 
All the great blessings of the home depend on a 
high regard for the sacredness of the marriage 
bond. The purity of the family life is essential 
also to the public welfare. Moral decay in the 
family is the invariable prelude to public corrup- 
tion. The common verdict of history is that "a 
nation stands or falls with the sanctity of its do- 
mestic ties." To ignore the divine in this institu- 
tion and its relations is to dishonor God, and mock 
at his purposes in the institution of marriage ; and 
is the commission of a sin which a Christian land 
like ours can ill afford to countenance or have per- 
petrated in our midst. Let us therefore honor 
God by revering and perpetuating marriage as a 
divine institution, and by regarding its relations as 
sacredly inviolate as those between Christ and his 
Church, and God will honor and bless his people 
in their marriage, and our homes will become the 
foretaste of heavenly happiness and bliss. 

3. A significant inquiry may be raised, as to the 
proper person to perform the marriage ceremony. 
If the marriage relation is divine in origin and 
character, it becomes a matter of vital importance 



MARRIAGE. 30I 

as to what should be the character of the | 
Solemnizing these relations. Who shall perform 
icred — this divine — function? This inquiry 
to our attention a matter of vital importance. 
And I tempting an answer to this inquiry 

several thingswill need to be carefully noted: First 
as a matter of observation from history, that the 
rid have prospered in propor- 
tion only as the}- have been theocratic in their 
government The great and powerful nations of 
the earth have reached the pinnacle of their glory 
and power with the Cod of Israel at their head, 
and, as in the glory of their strength they 
and forsook him, they in turn fell, and (except on 

' ivion as though 
they had never had an existence. Tin- (. 

ind Jacob — the I reel — 

and the author of the marriage relation, made no 
undue claim in his declaration, " I am the Lord 

Thou shah have no other gods before 

but out of the fullness of his infinite love 

upon which to stand 

ail. 

tlie marriage i-< the institution of 
the hoi the nation emanates from the 

hollK 



302 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

ious and civil liberty ; and as both these are secured 
in the keeping of God's law, the highest degree of 
civil and religious liberty can only be obtained by 
honoring God in a proper recognition of him in his 
own institutions. 

Thirdly, that while God in his economy has 
always accorded certain rights to the State as such, 
He has never accorded the right to the king or any 
other civil officer to act in the capacity of a priest; 
and has carefully drawn the line of distinction 
between the functions of the civil and ecclesiastical 
offices; and in one instance (2 Chron. xxvi. 16- 
21) punished with leprosy for life one who pre- 
sumed to officiate in the priest's stead: In view of 
these facts we submit the question, who are proper 
persons to perform the solemn service of marriage? 
Baptism is recognized by all as a divine ordinance, 
but no one ever thinks of calling a civil officer to 
perform that sacred rite. With one accord the sac- 
rament of the altar is recognized as a divine insti- 
tution, but would you, dear reader, presume to eat 
and drink the emblems of the Lord's broken body 
and shed blood from unclean hands ? For whom 
do you ordinarily send to baptize your children or 
sick? or to administer the Lord's Supper to your 
sick or dving? — a man of the world, or a man of 



MARRIAGE. 303 

God! Ah! there can be but one answer. "Who 
shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall 
stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands 
and a pure- heart, who hath not lifted up his soul 
unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully." Ps. xxiv. 3. 
.:. •Render therefore unto Csesai the things 
which are Caesar's, and onto God the things that 
rod's." Matt. xxii. 21. 
With the present number of marriages performed 
by civil officers, the majority of whom never pray 
for th( and consequently are unfit to pray 

for others, is it any wonder that God is blighting 
the virtue and sanctity of our homes in the multi- 
plication of applications for divorces"-' While we 
thus dishonor G<><1 in the sealing <>f these sacred 
ve hope for homes blest with "peace, 
happiness and pro s perity?" Ah! if we would have 
:reles shall go forth nun and 
WOmen Who Shall be an honor to their parents, an 
honor to their country, and an honor to their 
conn:: I it is high time for the people of 

tnmit the sacred function of a 

marriage ceremony to the ministrv of the 
whom God has called to minister in holy things. 

Hut with tli i is an 

institution, the sanctity of its relations, etc, we 



304 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

hasten to notice some of the more essential pre- 
requisites to 

The Proper Keeping of the Marriage Vow and 
the Enjoyment of its Relations. 

To enumerate fully all these prerequisites would 
be beyond the limits of our present space. But we 
will note a few of them : 

1. A proper conception of the institution, of its 
relations, and of the vow. 

To enjoy the blessings of any divine institution 
it is preeminently necessary to have proper concep- 
tions of that institution. Marriage as a divine in- 
stitution affords many and great blessings to those 
who are prepared to receive them. By this we 
would not leave the inference that the ungodly can 
in no sense enjoy the marriage relation. They can 
and do enjoy it in a certain measure, just as the 
world in a measure enjoys the blessings of Christi- 
anity. But the fullness of Christ's blessings are 
realized by those only who have passed from death 
unto life. But whether Christian or not, a proper 
conception of the institution will greatly multiply 
the blessings of marriage to all who enter into its 
relations. We have spoken of marriage as a divine 
institution. We need yet to speak only of the 
nature of the marriage relation. 



MARRIAGE. 305 

The idea has become somewhat prevalent that 
marriage is only a sort of corporate or civil con- 
tract, to be entered into or dissolved at will by due 
process of civil law. And this idea is forcing upon 
us a state of things in our day that is really ap- 
palling. Divorces are granted almost as freely 
as the licenses to marry. The holiest affections 
and the most sacred ties are dealt with as the 
most trivial things. Hearts are broken, homes 
are despoiled of their happiness, children are 
robbed of the blessings of a father's care and a 
mother's love and their future hopes buried in 
shame and disgrace; fearful scandals that stink of 
the pit are brooded, developed, and exposed to pub- 
lic gaze ; mutual confidence of the betrothed has 
begun to wane, until marriage is being pronounced 
a lottery. The result is a land cursed by the hor- 
rible alliances and unnatural relations brought 
about by divorces and re-marriages and divorces 
again, in endless confusion. And all this is the re- 
sult largely of a misconception of the nature of the 
marriage relation — a terrible sin which we as a 
boasted Christian land can ill afford to have pend- 
ing over us. But the true idea of marriage (which 
is the only real remedy for this growing evil) is in 
a proper conception of the marriage relation. We 
20 



306 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

must remember, and as a Church we need to teach, 
that marriage is not simply a corporate union of 
such a nature that the contracting parties, after the 
solemn union has been effected, continue to main- 
tain their distinctive personalities as before their 
marriage. This is the distinctively human con- 
ception of it. But the true conception of marriage 
is that the union is of such a nature — there is such 
a mutual assimilation of the two natures, purposes, 
etc., if properly entered into — that the two parties 
become as one person; as God has said, " they two 
shall become one flesh." Hence the figure of mar- 
riage as the union of Christ and his Church. 
They are not simply nominally, but essentially one. 
So our Lord prayed (John xvii. 21): " That they all 
may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and / in 
thee, that they also may be one in ns." As the true 
Christian in his conversion lost his relation to the 
world, became dead to it, and his life became "hid 
with Christ in God," so the contracting parties, 
when truly united in marriage, become so assimi- 
lated unto each other that their distinctive person- 
alities are in a measure lost in each other. From 
this conception of the relations established in mar- 
riage, the divine conception of an 



MARRIAGE. 307 

In dis sol 'u bit i 'n ion 
becomes quite clear. The thought of divorce is 
of human origin. It is true God permitted it, but 
with the solemn caution ,k what therefore God hath 
ether let nut man put asunder." Like 
the anointing of the first king, the bill of divorce- 
ment was given under protest. But the divine 
6C of the institution was an indissoluble 
union — a union whose bond could be broken for 
but one cause other than death. The marriage 
vow therefore is one of no ordinary character. It 
is one of the most solemn and binding ever entered 
into by mankind. The covenant entered into in a 
public profession of faith in Christ is no more 
sacred, nor the obligation any more binding, than 
that of the marriage vow. In taking this vow both 

promise I and witnesses that they 

will keep : aid inviolate so long as they 

hail live. What m< red? What more 

binding? It i-^ one of those vows, by which by 
means of the divine operations "they twain be- 

And thus a union is formed 
which I 

imond M and in " I 
In view of these .solemn obligations 

our Lord said "Wherefore they are do more twain, 



308 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined 
together let not man put asunder. * * * Whoso 
shall put away his wife except it be for fornica- 
tion, and shall marry another, committeth adul- 
tery. And whoso rnarrieth her that is put away 
doth commit adultery." Matt. xix. 6, 9. There can 
be no divorce, and consequently no re-marriage 
with the sanction of Christ and his Church, except 
for the cause of adultery. This is God's decree, 
and by this as Christians we must stand. It is 
true the State has here encroached upon the divine 
law, and thus Church and State are brought in con- 
flict with each other. But whatever men in their 
depravity and blindness may legislate, can not 
supersede God's word. On the contrary, all legis- 
lation not in accord with God's word must be re- 
garded as null and void. And any person who has 
been divorced for any other cause than that pre- 
scribed in God's word, and shall remarry, even 
under the sanction of the civil law is, in the eyes 
of God, guilty of adultery. We cannot, therefore, 
be too considerate and prayerful in entering these 
sacred relations ; it " should not be entered into 
unadvisedly or lightly, but discreetly, reverently, 
and in the fear of God." 

From this thought we pass to notice 



MARRIAGE. 309 

Some of the Essential Prerequisites to tin* F; 
\nd Enjoyment oj the Marriage 
A' lotion. 

We cannot mention all or even many of these. 
A few of the more salient ones must suffice. We 
mention 

1. Proper Pi > t *m to Marry. 

all the human race are proper subjects for 
marriage. Some are physically incompetent, oth- 
ers are unworthy. ( >f the former we dare not 
; the latter we dare not pass without a word. 
either sex addicted to any gross immor- 
ality can not take the place of a true companion, 
and help make horn.- happy. Permit me th< 

myself first to the young ladies and then 
to the young men. 

ansel t<> you, young woman, I de- 

. never permit a drunkard or a gambler 

to win your affections. It is bad enough to have 
oung nun, as the best that can be said 

of them, "they are civil young men." M.uiv a 
young woman has completely wrecked a pure and 
giving her li< art and hand in mar- 
to an u::-' ang man. Sometimes we 
! by young women, " I will break him 
of th< married" Hut 



310 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

almost without an exception they come out with a 
broken heart in the attempt. To give consent to 
marriage with any young man who drinks or 
gambles, or who is guilty of lewdness, means ruin — 
ruin forever. I beg here to quote a single instance 
from Dr. Gunn, whose writings on "intemper- 
ance" and "the dangers to young men" are 
familiar to most of our readers. 

"I knew a youth — a noble, generous youth — 
from whose heart flowed a living fount of pure and 
holy feeling, which spread around and fertilized the 
soil of friendship, while warm and generous friends 
crowded about and enclosed him in a circle of pure 
and God-like happiness. The eye of woman 
brightened at his approach, and wealth and honor 
smiled to woo him to their circle. His days sped 
onward, and as a summer's brook sparkles all joyous 
on its gladsome way, so sped he on, blithesome 
amid the light of woman's love and manhood's 
eulogy. Not a cloud to shadow his future, but 
the occasional taste of his father's cup. He wooed 
and won a maid of peerless charms ; a being fair, 
delicate and pure, bestowed the harvest of her 
heart's young love upon him. The car of time 
rolled on, and clouds arose to dim the horizon of 
his worldly happiness. The serpent of inebriation 



MARRIAGE. 3II 

crept into the Eden of his heart ; the pure and holy 
feelings which the God of nature had implanted in 
■ ul became polluted by the influence of the 
lied social cup. The warm and generous 
aspirations of his soul became frozen and callous 
within him. The tears of the wretched, the agony 
of the afflicted wife, found no response in his 
bosom. The pure and holy fount of universal love 
within his heart, that once gushed forth at the 
of misery, and prompted the hand to ad- 
minister to the requirements of the wretched, sent 
forth no more its pure and benevolent offerings ; 
its water had become intermingled with the 

poisoned ingredients of spirits, and the rank weeds 

of intemperance had sprung up and choked the 
fount whence the stream flowed. The dark spirit 
of poverty had flapped its wings over his habita- 
tion, and the burning hand of disease had seared 
the brightness of his eye, and palsied the elasticity 

of his frame. The friends who basked in the sun- 
shine of hi v fled when the wintry winds 
ty blew harshly around his dwelling. 

And the end of that family was one of Buffering 

and il • haunted by the thought— father 

in a drunkard's grave and a drunkard's hell." 
Thi not the creation of a vivid itnagi- 



312 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

nation, but is repeating itself in the observation of 
our readers with each cycle of years. What a 
signal of warning such scenes should be to all our 
young readers. God has created you for nobler 
purposes than to thus commit yourselves to disaster 
and ruin. He gave you to man to make home an 
earthly paradise. But to give a pure and noble 
heart—a heart actuated by the teuderest and purest 
impulses of genuine womanhood — to men of un- 
clean and dangerous habits, is thwarting the very 
purpose for which God created you. And in so 
doing you not only frustrate your own hopes of 
happiness, but sin in the sight of God. Be careful 
therefore to commit yourselves for life to those 
only who are at least clean and reputable in their 
habits of life. 

Young men, a word of counsel to you : Have 
you, from a deep sense of appreciation of woman, 
regarded all the women of the land blameless as 
ministering angels : then be at once undeceived. 
They are not always what they seem. It has been 
said of woman "she is either a ministering angel, 
or a perfect devil." Harsh and rude as this may 
sound, with an air of extravagance in its expression, 
there is a deal of truth in this saying. It is all 
very well to admire their beautiful forms, their 



MARRI.V.K. 313 

ad sparkling eyes, but this is not 
';. This is as the bird charmed by the ser- 
pent's insidious gaze. Bat the heart that is throb- 
bing with the tender affections and the noble im- 
pulses of genuine womanhood will manifest itself 
in a gentle and noble life. Some of the qualifica- 
to a useful and true companionship will be 
found in the qualifications for true womanhood 
given in chapter twelve But aside from an impure 
all things beware of a rattling tongue, 
for their feet are swift to mischief. The "wise 
man' 1 vivid description of such in his 

enumeration of the seven things which are an 
abomination to God — Prov. vi. [6-19. And the 
te James (iii. 4-6), under the inspiration of 

the Holy Ghost, wn the ships 

which, though they be so great, and are driven of 

they turned about with a very 

small helm, whithei the governor listeth. 

agUC is a little member, and boOSt- 
eth great things. Behold how great B matter a 

little fire kindleth I And the tongue is a fire, a 

iniquity. So is the tongue amon 
members, that il defileth the whole body, and set- 

a file th( ' nature; and it is set on 

: lull. 1 

when ' - enthroned. 



314 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

Are you seeking the affections of one to whom 
you can look for a true helpmeet as a life com- 
panion? then beware also of the so-called "parlor 
ladies." It is a laudable accomplishment to move 
with ease and grace amid a circle of friends in the 
parlor. But it is a mark of illiteracy and incom- 
petency in any who cannot move with equal ease 
and grace in the kitchen and dining-room. 

A word more to the Christian young men and 
women to whom this message may come. Chris- 
tians ought always by all means seek companions 
from among the fold of Christ. God positively 
prohibited his ancient people from intermarrying 
with the idolatrous and wicked. Paul earnestly 
exhorted the people of Corinth (2 Cor. vi. 14), " Be 
ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers. 
For what fellowship hath righteousness with un- 
righteousness? And what communion hath light 
with darkness?" And as the light and happiness 
of the home depends so largely upon the grace and 
spirit of God, inasmuch as there can be no real 
peace and happiness without these, how essential 
that kindred hearts united for life to become one 
flesh be washed with the same blood and sanctified 
by the same spirit, in order to enjoy that peace 
which passeth all understanding in their home 



MARRIA' 315 

lighted with that light which "shineth more and 
more unto the perfect day." 
2. Pet niempkUing marriage with each 

other should have a thorough kn ■ each 

other's dispositions ond habits of life. This is a 
matter of grave importance. The great mass of 
mankind is a common mass of individuality. 
There are as many dispositions as there are human 
And every disposition has a correspond- 
ing disposition with which it will blend into one 
life more ftllly and freely than with any other. 

can be discovered only by the most intimate 
personal acquaintance. Every living thing which 
God created he created in pairs oropposites. The 

i tions, temperaments, etc., of husband and 
: ale should be opj The power 

of attraction in the magnet consists in its opposite 

in human lives. Hence the need of a more 
careful stud other than is usually given, in 

order that there may be mutual congeniality and 

tion. Hence the impropriety of hasty mar- 

: apparent also. Even Shakespeare 

A. hasty marriage seldom proveth well." 

Hut the climax in these prerequisites to the 

md enjoyment of the marriage relation is 



316 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

3. In the proper motives for marriage. 

The motives which prompt people to marry are 
many and of great diversity. Some people marry 
for the sake of marriage. Many of our young 
people have very erroneous ideas regarding this 
matter. The following, from "A Clever Old 
Maid to Single Women," is to the point for 
young men as well. " They feel almost disgraced 
if they have arrived at a mature age, and are not 
yet able to write Mrs. before their names. Their 
whole ambition is to get a husband by hook or 
crook, but to get him somehow they must. Con- 
sequently they take the first man who offers him- 
self, whether he really suits them or not. Now, 
girls, do not marry in haste. Get the best educa- 
tion possible, help about domestic affairs, and 
enter upon some trade or profession for which you 
have a taste, and master it. Skilled labor is al- 
ways well paid. Dont spend your time repining, 
because you cannot see the coming man. If you 
never see him, you can live useful and happy lives 
without him. * * * Do your duty in life, and 
you will count for one in the world, whether mar- 
ried or single." 

Some marry for beauty. Beautiful forms, rosy 
cheeks and sparkling eyes, are real charms with 



MAKRIA 317 

which God has blessed many of our race. But they 

do not in themselves possess the secret of a happy 

mania has suggested, "Beauty is only 

skin deep, but Ugliness penetrates to the bone." 

While there is some truth in this, tlie standard of 

real b in the old adage, "Pretty is who 

And with this as the popular stand- 

of beauty, this motive might be allowable. 

Still others marry for homes and wealth. But 

the only true — the only scriptural motive that 

should actuate any one to marry, is 

Mutual I 

This is the climax in the catalogue of pre- 
requisites to a happy marriage. A man ami 
D may enter life's busy scenes, as husband 
and wife, beautiful, intelligent, moving in the 
hlghet cin iety, and with a palace furn- 

ished with all the modern conveniences and corn- 
like the rich man of old, they may be 
clothed in fine linen and fare sumptuously every 

ind yet unless their hearts have become one 

•ir union cannot be a real — a happy 

one. Prom th( »ed walls, 

scls c il furniture, and glit! 

chandelier will collie tile doleful lamentation, 



318 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

" Happiness is not found in this home." But here 
is another couple, whose hearts respond to each 
other in mutual love. They begin life with but 
little of this world's goods. Perhaps there is a 
carpetless floor and the simplest furniture, but 
everything is bright and cheerful within — they 
are truly happy. 

Mr. Moody gives us the following illustration of 
genuine love: "One day when I was in Brooklyn 
I saw a young man going along the street without 
any arms. A friend of mine pointed him out to 
me, and told me his story. When the war broke 
out, he felt it his duty to enlist and go to the front. 
He was engaged to be married, and while in the 
army letters passed frequently between him and 
his intended wife. After the battle of the Wil- 
derness the young lady looked anxiously for the 
accustomed letter. For a little while no letter was 
received. At last one came written in a strange 
hand. She opened it with trembling fingers, and 
read these words: " We have fought a terrible bat- 
tle. I have been wounded so awfully that I shall 
never be able to support yon. A friend writes this 
for me. I love you more tenderly than ever, but 
I release you from your promise. I will not ask 
you to join your life with the maimed life of 



MARRIAGE. 319 

mine.' That letter was never answered. The 
next train that left the young lady was on it. She 
went to the hospital. She found out the number 
of his cot, and went down the aisle, between the 
long rows of the wounded men. At last she saw 
the number, and, hurrying to his side, she threw 
her arms around his neck and said: 'I'll not 
desert you. I'll take care of you.' He did not 
her love. They were married, and there is 
no happier couple anywhere than this one." 
Their love for each other was genuine and mutual, 
and hence their happy home. 

With such love the divine purpose, as well as the 
human idea of marriage, may be realized. To this 
end Paul (Bph. v. 25-28) exhorted, "Husbands, 
love your wives, even as Christ also hath loved the 
Church and given himself for it. So ought men 
■ their wives as their own bodies. He that 
b his wife loveth himself." Paul, though 
himself unmarried, as an inspired .servant oi 

is with the thought that as love is 
Biy real bond of union, BO it IS the only real 
It is written, " ( tod is I 
lint who is happier than he who is tilled with the 
\nd upon tin- presumption of mu- 
tual I s.iid, "they twain shall be one 



320 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

flesh." Love is the divine law of union, and the 
divine must become the human law of union in 
order to be effectual. Without mutual love it may 
be a formal, but not a real marriage. Pope, as by 
inspiration, wrote : 

" Oh, happy state when souls each other draw ; 
When love is liberty, and nature law ; 
All then is full, possessing and possess'd, 
No craving void left aching in the breast ; 
Even thought meets thought, ere from the lips it part, 
And each warm wish springs mutual from the heart." 

William Penn left his young friends this coun- 
sel : " Never marry but for love ; but see that thou 
love what is lovely." 

Do not mistake, however, admiration and pas- 
sion for love. We may admire those whom we 
cannot love. In an unguarded moment our evil 
passions may arise to the pitch where they may be 
mistaken for real love. But marriage is far too 
serious a matter to be thus trifled with. It in- 
volves our happiness for time and, it may be, for 
eternity. In view of this we can well afford to be 
considerate and careful ; and as the years of happi- 
ness and connubial bliss of this life speed on, our 
aspirations will leap beyond the shoals of time, 



MARRIAGE. 321 

where we will gather at the great marriage-feast of 
the- Lamb and His bride, wedded with God's infi- 
nite love, to enjoy perfect connubial happiness aud 
bliss forever. 
21 



CHAPTER XIV. 

THE FUTURE PUNISHMENT OF THE WICKED. 

*' Divines and dying men may talk of hell, 
But in my heart her several torments dwell." 

— Shaks. 
" In utter darkness far 
Remote, I beings saw forlorn in woe, 
Burning continually, yet unconsumed. 
And there were groans that ended not, and sighs 
That always sighed, and tears that ever wept 
And ever fell, but not in mercy's sight. 
And still I heard these wretched beings curse 
Almighty God, and curse the Lamb, and curse 
The earth, the resurrection morn, and seek, 
And ever vainly seek, for utter death 

******* 
The place thou saw'st was hell ; the groans thou heard'st 
The wailings of the damned, of those who would not be re- 
deem'd." — Pollock" s Course of Time. 

By the future punishment of the wicked we 
mean those who die in their impenitence and their 
consequent reward. This is one of those Bible 
doctrines about which far too little is said in these 
latter days. True, it is by no means a desirable 
subject of discourse or conversation. But with the 
(322) 



FUTURE PUNISHMENT OS THE WICKED. 323 

burden ofsouls upon our hearts, we can nut ignore 
or even treat lightly so important a Bible doctrine; 
but, moved by the love of God, we must warn the 
impending danger. And for the benefit 
of any who may feel loath to believe this doctrine, 
We will COnsidei the subject, 

■■>: the Pr i nciph 0) Fundamental Law, 

In the «.: I farmed everything upon the 

rtain law and order, and by that law 
everything exists and acts. And no less so in the 
creation ot' man, with only an additional feature : 
That feature was obedience as opposed to disobedi- 
ence — of right I to wrong. This feature 
has become the fundamental principle of all law 
regulating the relations of human society and of 

man I In addition to this principle God 

in. in the faculty of volition — that of 

n^ between right and wrong, .mil of regulat- 
ing 1:: lingly. In Bhort, he created 
man a fret moral Ogent^OxA in order that man 

might have the privilege of exercising this faculty 

I a tree in the midst of the garden, with 

mmand "Thoushalt not eat of it ; for in the 
day that {'.. \ thereof thou shalt surely die.' 1 

The reader will notice here that it IS not the 

titutes d: 



324 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

ence and sin, but the experience of it. Hence, 
no sooner had our first parents eaten of the for- 
bidden fruit, than they hid themselves. Why? 
Because they had now experienced the conse- 
quence of the violation of the fundamental law of 
their being. The improper exercise of their voli- 
tion had resulted in a violated law. A violated 
law brought an experience of condemnation. 
Therefore, we have this principle of fundamental 
law asserting itself as one of the intuitive princi- 
ples of human existence. We naturally and in- 
variably experience a sense of condemnation for 
wrong, and a sense of satisfaction for good done ; 
and just as invariably expect punishment for sin 
and approbation for good. It is an intuitive prin- 
ciple universally asserting itself. This same prin- 
ciple is the basis of all civil and ecclesiastical 
law. Adam and Eve tried to hide themselves from 
the presence of God, not because God had con- 
demned them— for they hid before they heard the 
voice of God — but because they had condemned 
themselves on the principle of this law. They re- 
alized their condemnation and the justice of it be- 
fore God called them to an account. They had 
experienced a sense of guilt and expected all they 
received. With the experience of the guilt and 



FUTURE PUNISHMENT OF Till- WICKED. 

effects of sin came also the expectation of punish- 
ment. With this fundamental principle in «. . 
". law, therefore, every sinner intuitivi 
punishment for his sins; and this is tl 
civil law as well. The criminals oi* to-day realize 
:ilt of their crime in the act of committing it. 
Their only hope of escape from punishment is in 
leteCtion by the executors of the law. 

Hence, their prompt flight from expected punish- 
ment, even when no man pursueth; and so every 

: of law intuitively expects the just 

punishment for his crime. This principle is SO 

and prevails so absolutely universal, that, 

though many attempts have been made, no man 

to explain away the solemn 
truth- own declaration, " The soul that 

sinn, t/t, it shall 

m this thought we turn to consider this sub- 
Si m i'w from Analog 

undamental law of which 

I our conception of 

ri^ht : evil. But for that 

principle of law, like the brute creation, man 

:: of right and WTOUj 

ight But in order to further reveal in 



3^6 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

us God's image and to confirm and strengthen our 
conception of this principle as the voice of God 
speaking in and through our consciences, the Bible 
teaches most explicitly the same principle, empha- 
sizing, echoing and re-echoing the thought in al- 
most every chapter, approving of the good on the 
one hand and threatening the evil on the other. 
Moreover, the Bible, looking from cause to effect, 
presents the end or consummation of all good as a 
condition of rest, happiness and eternal felicity. 
Hence upon the principle of this law we have a 
foretaste in this life of the different conditions and 
states in the life to come. For obedience to God 
— for every act of kindness, or of sacrifice for His 
sake — there comes a sense of satisfaction and joy. 
A good cause has produced a good effect. The 
effect of the good cause is the foretaste of that which 
is to come. Upon this principle therefore the Bible 
looks from a good cause and its effects in our pres- 
ent existence into the future for corresponding 
effects in a condition and place called heaven. 
Hence we read in Heb. iv. 9, " There remaineth 
therefore a rest for the people of God." And in 
Rev. xiv. 13, "Blessed"— happy— "are the dead 
which die in the Lord." And then Paul's parting 
eulogium, 2 Tim. iv. 7, 8, "I have fought a good 



FUTURE PUNISHMENT "1- Till- WICKED. 327 

fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the 
faith ; henceforth there is laid up for vn 

rhich the Lord, the righteous Judge, 

shall give to me at that day. " These are only a 
: the many cheering promises of God to the 
righteous. And all who have any regard for God 
or a religious state believe these cheering promist - 
and aspire to a realization of them in the latter 

Hut the same principle involved here in the con- 
dition and state of the righteous is involved also in 
the state of the wicked. The cause being evil, the 
effects must correspond. Thorns produce thorns 
and thistles yield thistles, but we do not look for 
m either. So the Bible discovers to us the 

fact that the sense of condemnation expe ri e n c ed 

here foi sins committed is but a foretaste of the 

final effect in a future state of condemnation. The 
— the sin— is the cause, the sense of con- 
demnation is the effect And the sense of con- 
demnation cannot be better described than by the 
Bible terms "misery," "shame," "torment," etc. 
t.ite more .shameful and miserable 
than that of th( " The way of the trans- 

I is hard." PrOV. xiii. 15. Sin is the cause, 

imc Mid toiuM u: the effect I fence 



328 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

God's word looking from cause to effect speaks of 
the future state of the wicked — of the finally im- 
penitent — as one of shame and torment. For this 
cause the rich man prayed Abraham to send Laz- 
arus back to his friends. "For," said he, "I have 
five brethren, that he may testify unto them, lest 
they also couie into this place of torment." In 
Rev. xiv. ii we read, "and the smoke of their 
torment ascendeth up for ever and ever, and they 
have no rest day nor night." In Dan. xii. 2, God's 
word speaks of "everlasting shame and contempt" 
of the "bottomless pit" (Rev. xx. 3), of "eternal 
damnation" (Luke iii. 29; John v. 25), of "hell," 
etc., (Ps. ix. 17 ; Ezek. xxxi. 16 ; Matt. v. 22 ; xviii. 
9, etc.). It is God's word speaking in the same 
positive terms of both the conditions of blessedness 
and condemnation. It looks from cause to effect 
in each case. It thus confirms our intuitive antici- 
pations in each case. All who believe the Bible 
therefore in the one case can not do otherwise than 
believe it in the other. 

Again, the Bible also speaks of a Judge and a 
Judgment Day. The psalmist declares (1. 6) : 
" And the heavens shall declare his righteousness, 
for God himself is Judge." "And (Ps. ix. 8) he 
shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall 



FUTURE PUNISHMENT OF THE WICKED. 

minister judgment to the people in righteous 

Felix trembled when Paul "reasoned 

hteousness, temperance and judgment to 

'.ets xxiv. 2^). For more passages on 

this ]K)int the reader nu. I k. vii. 3 ; Matt. 

v. 21, etc : Rom. i. 32 ; 2 Tim. iv. 1 ; 1 Pet. iv. 5. 

In civil law the judge sits as the executor of 

IW. He pronounces the penalty prescribed 

by the law. Since therefore the law ofGod is the 

-fall law, and since both the Judge and the 

of Judgment have been appointed ami the 

nalties fixed, we naturally expect 

the penalty. For why have a law, 

a Judge, and a Judgment Day, if it is not the 

divine purpose to execute the law. Anything 

short of this would be an injustice to those for 

benefit the law was given, and to him who 

to redeem as from the curse of the law, as 

well as make < uthor of the law, a liar. 

Of tli- • ha- been written (Rom. iii. 3,41: 

what if some did not believe? Shall their 

the fait!; I without effect J 

I be tnc\ but > very man a 

mitten: "That thou mightest be 
• , and mightesl 
when thou art judged," Ihaiee the inspired 



330 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

writer (Gen. xviii. 25) pertinently asked : " Shall 
not the judge of all the earth do right?" 

Let it be further noted that God has made pro- 
vision for every want or expectation of his crea- 
tures. For example, man intuitively looks for an 
object of worship. From the depth of his heart 
comes welling up that desire for worship — not 
alone in Christian, but in all lands. The disposi- 
tion to worship is as universal as the human race. 

A people without some object of worship has 
never been known. The heathen, the pagan, the 
Christian — all have their objects of worship. God 
created in man this disposition. He created us 
religious, worshipful beings. To meet this want, 
and deeming it proper that the creature should 
worship the creator, God has said, " I am the Lord 
thy God, thou shalt have no other gods before 
me." But the disposition to worship anticipates 
as the consummation of worship, a future state of 
rest and peace and glory, like unto the state of the 
Creator. Hence, the anticipations of a future, 
eternal, spiritual, blissful home. To meet these 
expectations our Lord said, "I go to prepare a 
place for you, that where I am there ye may be 
also." John xiv. 3. " Come unto me all ye that 
labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you 



PUNISHMENT OF THE WICKED. 331 

And we need not multiply these promises 
of God to assure the- reader of the ample provisions 
which God has made for this want, as the fact is 

involved in <>nr earnest longings for its realization. 

But the intuitive sense of wrong, condemnation 

and consequent expectation of punishment for sin, 

on to worship. The 
heathen, in tim tress, or any sore calamity, 

:noNt anything in order to appease the 
supposed wrath of their gods. Why? Because 
simultaneously with the sense of sin, and conse- 
quent condemnation, comes also the intuitive 
judgment and consequent punish- 
ment Under such a conviction, the famous 
infidel Voltaire uttered his dying sentence : "I 
look behind me, and all i^ dark ; I look before me, 
and all is dark ; soon I shall make a leap into the 
dark 

zing therefore, all these wants and ex- 
it] for them, the only 

a be that God has provided for 
and will justly mete out to every transgressor of 
Dg to their intuitive expect 

anises to provide for the 

all we not 

. his threat to provide the expected punish- 



332 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

ment in the other? Analogy presses its claims 
alike in each case. 

Thirdly, let us consider the direct teachings of 
God's word on this subject — What does it say ? 

The Bible is replete with God's promises to His 
people. They are as the sands of the sea shore. 
But God is not partial — He is no respecter of per- 
sons. His warnings and threats to the wicked are 
as numerous as His promises to the faithful. He 
would not give any occasion for any "in the last 
great day" to rise up and say "Lord, why hadst 
thou not revealed unto us the terror of the law and 
the fierceness of thy wrath?" Beginning therefore 
with Job xxi. 29, 30, let us read a few passages 
from God's word regarding the future prospects 
for the wicked. "Have ye not asked them that 
go by the way ? and do ye not know their tokens, 
that the wicked is reserved to the day of destruc- 
tion? they shall be brought forth to the day of 
wrath." And from Psalm xcii. 7, "When the 
wicked spring as the grass, and when all the work- 
ers of iniquity do flourish, it is that they shall be 
destroyed forever." And (ix. 17) "the wicked 
shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that 
forget God." And then turning to the evangelical 
prophet (Isa, iii. 10, 11) we read: "Say ye to 



. HE VI [CKBD. 

the righteous that it shall be well with him, fur 
they shall eat of the fruit of their doings. Woe 
unto the wicked ! it shall be ill with him ; tor the 
reward of his hand shall be given him." From 
Dan. x;;. 2: "And many of them that sleep in 
: the earth shall awake, some to everlast- 
ing li: ame and everlasting 

tempt.'" And yet one more passage from the Old 

tnent Mai. iv. i): "For, behold, the day 

cometh that shall burn as an oven, and all the 
proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be 
stubble ; and the day that cometh shall burn them 

ith tin- Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them 
neither root nor branch." 

a these unmistakably clear passages do com- 
ment and we turn to the New Testament 

:rther instruct* 

.list friends seem to comfort them- 

with the thought that the Old Testament 

:ven under a dispensation of law, when the 

moved the people with the of the 

but that the N ment was given in a 

would 

awakened in their hearts 

by the atoning Christ But the vanity 

of this hope will be seen aftei a few quotations, 



334 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

Listen to the words of our Lord (Matt. viii. n, 
12), "And I say unto you, that many shall come 
from the east and west, and shall sit down with 
Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom 
of heaven : But the children of the kingdom shall 
be cast into outer darkness ; there shall be weep- 
ing and gnashing of teeth." Again (xiii. 36-42) 
we read : "Then Jesus sent the multitude away 
and went into the house ; and his disciples came 
unto him saying, Declare unto us the parable of 
the tares of the field. He answered and said unto 
them, He that soweth the good seed is the son of 
man ; the field is the world ; the good seed are the 
children of the kingdom ; but the tares are the 
children of the wicked one ; the enemy that sowed 
them is the devil ; the harvest is the end of the 
world ; and the reapers are the angels. As there- 
fore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, 
so shall it be in the end of the world. The Son of 
man shall send forth His angels, and they shall 
gather out of the kingdom all things that offend, 
and them which do iniquity, and shall cast them 
into a furnace of fire, there shall be wailing and 
gnashing of teeth.' 1 '' Our Lord was asked for an 
interpretation of his parable of the tares, and in 
response to the disciples' request gave them this 



KUTL'RK PUNISHMENT OV THE WICKED. 335 

IgC, which is BO unmistakably clear that there 
can be no hope for mercy to the impenitent. But 
this is nut all: Hear him again (Matt XXV. 41, 

"Then shall he say also to them on his left 
hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting 
fire, prepared for the devil and his angels ; and 

these shall go away into everlasting punishment." 

:. it is written (2 Pet. ii. 4-9J : " For ii 

I not the angels that sinned, but cast them 

down to hell, and delivered them into chains of 

darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; and 

I not the old world, bnt saved Xoah, the 

eighth person * * * bringing in the flood upon the 

world of the ungodly. ***** The Lord know- 

eth how to deliver the godly out of temptation, 

and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment 

to be punished." That is to say, that if God did 

the angels that sinned, but cast them 

to hell ; and if he did DOt spare the old 

world, only the just person, and reserved 

t unto judgment, then there can be no hope 
lor the finally impenitent. In Revelation XI 
n, it is written of this sam- The same 

shall drink of the wine of the wrath ofGod, which 
is injured OUt without mixture into the enp of his 
nation, and he shall be tormented with lire 



336 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

and brimstone, * * * * and the smoke of their 
torment ascendeth up forever and ever." 

And thus we might indefinitely multiply pas- 
sages from God's word on this subject. But with 
one more citation we leave the matter for the 
reader's prayerful consideration. Let us read Matt, 
xii. 31, 32 : "Wherefore I say unto you, all manner 
of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men, 
but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall 
not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speak- 
eth a word against the Son of man, it shall be for- 
given him ; but whosoever speaketh against the 
Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither 
in this world, neither in the world to come." 

In this passage we are simply taught that there 
is a sin which for its heinousness has transcended 
the bounds of penitence, and hence is without the 
reach of love and mercy, and therefore can not, 
for any consideration, at any time, be forgiven. 
And if it can not be forgiven, the result is in- 
evitable, and the future punishment of the wicked 
is established once and for all. And in view of 
this we do not wonder at our Lord's pertinent 
question (Matt, xxiii. 33): "Ye serpents, ye gener- 
ation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation 
of hell?" Dear reader, if you are not abiding in 



FUTURE PUNISHMENT OE THE WICKED. 

the love and grace of God, huw can you hope to 

pe ? 

kfy — The Duration of the Future Punish- 
ment of the 11 'icki </. 

This thought is worthy of our most serious con- 
sideration. It becomes Berious because of the 

duration invoked in the future .state of the 
L It is true, in tile minds Of .some, the 
duration of the future punishment of the wicked 
has not been very definitely fixed. Prominent 
among these ;••:<- (JniveisalistS and Romanists — 
the former believing that all will be finally saved : 
some being doomed for a time to the fires of hell 
until they have paid the penalty of their .sins, 
when they will be restored to peace with God and 
the bliss and glory of heaven : the latter believing 
that all outside of the Romish Church will be 
and that the weak and unfaithful 
of their Church will be committed for a time to 
purgatorial tortures, but at length to come into 
:cnt of heavenly blessedness. Bnt all 
such expectations are, in fait, groundless ; nay 
they are all pernicious in their results. 
When ::i.i::i in will extin- 

guish their purgatorial fires, the one will in 



338 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

its piety, and the other its real consecration to God 
a hundred fold. The Bible leaves the impenitent 
in Gehenna, suffering the judicial penalty of their 
sins. It nowhere speaks of their restoration. Not 
one word is given to assure us that their punish- 
ment is of limited duration, or that the final restor- 
ation and happiness of any or all the wicked may 
ever be expected. But to our minds the Bible is 
decidedly clear on this point. 

We believe that heaven, its blessedness and bliss 
is of everlasting duration, why ? Because the 
Bible speaks of it as such. "God so loved the 
world that * * * * whosoever believeth on him 
should not perish, but have everlasting life." 
John iii. 16. "He that heareth my word and 
believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting 
life." John v. 24. "And every one that hath 
forsaken houses * * * * for my name's sake * * 
shall inherit everlasting life." Matt. xix. 29. 
"But he that soweth to the spirit shall of the 
spirit reap life everlasting. ' ' Gal. vi. 8. 

All who believe the Bible at all believe that 
these statements mean just what they say. Upon 
their literal meaning depend our hopes, our aspira- 
tions — our all — for the future. The Greek word 
" aioniojt" (" aiwiov ") in each one of these pas- 



FUTl'KK PUNISHMENT OF TIIK WICKED. 

■ages is translated '* everlasting." All — our lui- 

.1 Romish friends not excepted — believe 

that this word means just what it .-.ays. Indeed, 

with any limitation of meaning and duration, our 

anticipations of heaven would be much allayed, to 

e least Hut taking (iod at his word, and 

ord here at its literal meaning, and all aspire 

to the glory and bliss of heaven. 

Hut we turn now to other passages of God's 

U3 which the same aionioii occurs, and ask 

what will you do with them? I>aiah ('xxxiii. 14) 

I, "Who anion- OS Bhall dwell with etH 

urmngst" In Matt, xviii. 8, it is written : 

''Then shall he Bay also to them on the left hand, 

rt from me, \ (.- enrsed, into everlasting fire 
red for the devil and hisangels." (See also 

Matt. xxv. 41, 

In each of these [with many more 

which might be mentioned) the same Greek word 
aionion is osed, with the same translation, And in 
some of th< the same adjective occurs 

in the >am< u everlasting life," 

rlasting lire" — with the same translation in 
And if wr believe it means everlasting 
in the <'iK-, we can not do otherwise than so trans- 
late it in the other, [f we believe God's promises 



340 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

to the faithful, we can not consistently deny his 
threats to the wicked. To the one he promises 
everlasting life ; the other he threatens with ever- 
lasting punishment. Therefore both must be alike 
true or false. The one belief inspires the penitent 
and faithful to deeper consecration, to greater 
purity of life, and quickens their zeal in the re- 
ligious work, while it dooms only the impenitent to 
their eternal fate. The other belief dooms both, at 
some indefinite future time, to utter annihilation. 
Hence the only tenable, safe and scriptural ground 
of belief is that in each case the word means 
1 ' everlasting. ' ' 

But some will say, "We admit that the wicked 
should and will be punished. But inasmuch as 
both the time of sinners and their sins are finite — 
limited — it would be unjust to inflict unlimited — 
infinite punishment." 

In reply to this objection we would note briefly : 
i. That in the creation God imbued man with 
immortality, "he breathed into man the breath of 
life, and man became a living soul." God breathed 
into man of his own essence, and hence man's im- 
mortality. But that which is immortal can have 
no extinction or end of being. Therefore man's 
destiny must correspond with his immortality. 



FUTURE PUNISHMENT OB THE WICKED. 341 

2. That God created man an intelligent, free 
moral agent, with both the privilege and the 
ability to choose for himself between good and evil ; 
and with the instruction that in the one case it 
: be life, in the other death. According to 
the principle of fundamental law already enunci- 
the choosing presumes the consequence. 
Hence man having chosen the evil, and intuitively 
anticipated the consequences, God would virtually 

have thwarted man's free moral agency if he had 

made any change in the plan. For in so doing he 

would have denied man the right of hi- own choice, 

would therefore have made himself a liar. 

That man having chosen the evil, and 
by fallen from favor with Cod and from his 
I has made ample provision, in an in- 
finite atonement, for m overy, and has 
D man the privilege of choosing — having 
him life and death. The priviK 

an intelligent choice is now offered to all ; the 
ha- been made for all the sins, of all 
rod the benefits of this atone- 
the punishment 
provision must be com- 
mensurate with the K-stitu*- 1 in the 
Christ Man being im- 



342 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

mortal, a free moral agent capable and privileged 
to choose for himself the grace and infinite glory 
of God, the only injustice in the future eternal pun- 
ishment of the wicked is on the part of the doomed, 
and not on the part of God. All the injustice 
done, sinners do to their own souls. But the jus- 
tice of God demands that the future punishment 
of the wicked be eternal, everlasting. In the lan- 
guage of another, "I do not accept the doctrine 
of eternal punishment because I delight in it. I 
would cast in doubts, if I could, till I had filled 
hell up to its very brim ; I would destroy all faith 
in it. But that would do me no good ; the thing 
would still remain — I could not destroy it. Nor 
does it help me to take the word ' everlasting ' and 
put it into a rack like an inquisitor until I make 
it shriek out some other meaning. I can not alter 
the stern fact. It will stand while eternity lasts." 
But "eternity!" who can measure its dura- 
tion ! Suppose, after one of our most violent snow 
storms, which covers the earth deep for thousands 
of miles, one single flake were melted in a thous- 
and years ; or, if a single beam of the sun's rays 
stood for a year, and as many years were added as 
there have been rays flooding the earth since the 
sun began to shine ; or if a single drop of the 



FUTURE PUNISHMENT OP Till- WICKED. 343 

OOeao were exhaled in a million years, till the last 
drop were taken up ; — though we can not conceive 
of such apparently almost interminable periods, 
vet though we could, eternity would stretch as far 
ad them as though they had not yet begun. 

" Ah ! must I dwell in infinite 'lespair, 
atoms in the air p 
When [hete expire, as many yet in store 

I that crowd the ebbing ahore? 

Wh< gone, as 111. my to ensue 

on hills or dales that grew f 
When these [MM "'er, as many left behind 

: forest shaken 1 > y the wind ? 
When these run out, is many on the march 
rilliant lamps that gild JOB azure arch ; 
When many, many more 

As moments in the mfllionfl pad before ; 

When all these dreadful enl in pain, 

And multiplied by myriads again, 

Till numbers drown the thought ! COUld I Mp] 

then my wretche 
Thi Hut ah, I shivii 

Ink BpOO the dreadful WOrd ■ /■ >r;;t '" 

The burning v,\\\f where I blaspheming lie, 

I* t:: 1 ' " 

But we could not close this ( baptei without a 
moment's attention to 



344 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

The Nature of the Future Punishment of the 
Wicked. 

I do not believe, as some have taught, in the 
literal outpouring of "fire and brimstone" upon 
the wicked as a necessary constituent of hell. 
For the Bible does not present the future state, 
either of the righteous or the wicked, as essentially 
material, but of spiritual tilings. Material figures 
are used in some passages of God's word to convey 
to the mind some conceptions of the fearful tor- 
tures of the wicked, in eternity writhing with 
agony in the flames of God's eternal wrath. And 
this idea does not detract, but rather adds to the 
severity of the punishment. The joys of heaven 
magnify as we are changed from glory to glory, 
into the image of him who sits upon the throne. 
So the woes of hell will also magnify as the 
wicked fall deeper and deeper into the power and 
image of the demon that beguiled them there. 

Could we conceive of the wicked suffering un- 
der a continuous and most bitter remorse of con- 
science, with all their guilt in all its heinousness 
looming up before them ; conceive of them as 
seeing nothing but their sins, as thinking of noth- 
ing but their sins, as feeling nothing but the quilt 
of their sins, augmented by the taunts of 



FUTURE PUNISHMENT OV Till- WICKED. 345 

heavenly felicity, once so near and so freely of- 
fered, is now lost forever ; conceive of their 
banishment from all good, of banishment from all 
the salutary influences of good society ; banished 
from friends and home and parents; conceive of 
in the- society of blasphemers, drunk- 
murderers and such like, all in a 
monium of raging demons, with their very 
trembling with their k-arfnl groans and 
terrific bowlings; conceive of them "cast into 
outer darkness' 1 — "into the blackness of dark- 
" "into the bottomless pit," with the in- 
finite and eternal wrath of God constantly pouring 
into t: . and written over it all — " Doomed 

■ r" — and we have but a meagre conception 
Of hell. 

But 01 that thought '" There are 

mam sufferings tolerable only because they are 

ed tO be Of Short duration. In this world 
health fails, the hop ry vanishes, and we 

count the weary hours till we may find a happy 
e in death. But O I there is no death in hell. 
., which is a monster on earth, would be an 

.ith COUld ;^«> there, all the 
damned WOUld fill down and worship him. 

tongue would sin};, and ev< ry heart would ; 



346 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

each cavern would echo with a shout of triumph, 
till all was hushed, and silence brood where terror 
reigned. But no ! the terrible reality is this : "their 
worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched." Mark 
ix. 44. " And the smoke of their torment ascend- 
eth up for ever and ever." Rev. xiv. 11. O the 
destiny of the unsaved ! who can comprehend it ! 

My dear reader " knowing therefore the terror 
of the Lord," if you have not already arranged to 
escape it, will you not arrange to escape it by em- 
bracing Christ and his love, and by the riches of 
His grace come into the enjoyment of the riches 
of His glory? For to the wicked "it is a fearful 
thing to fall into the hands of the living God," but 
to the righteous it is joy and pleasure forever more. 
May a thoughtful and prayerful consideration of 
this subject lead you to peace with God through 
our Lord Jesus Christ, is the prayer of your humble 
servant. Amen. 



CHAPTER XV. 

EBAVBN. 

" Tiii.ki: is g heaven : 
This Bhred of lift can DOt Deal] the web 
Nature hath wrought to govern divine spirits ; 
Then is a heaven, ere'i misery. 

The divine pow er, ever blest and good, 

'.■I for an Ql-natnred jest, 
To sport himself in pains of those he made." 

Whatever skeptics may say of a hereafter, how- 
ever stubbornly they may deny it, the very mention 
of heaven awakens our aspirations and quickens 
our emotions. Moody once met an old friend, and 
took him by the hand and began to inquire 
about his family, the tears came trickling down his 
cheeks as he said : "I haven't any now." "What," 

•;r wife dead ?*' H Yes sir," 

said the man with trembling lips, " Ami all your 
children too?*' " Ves, all gone," he added almost 
convulsed with grief; "and I am left hen- desolate 
and alone. But — but —I am going to see them over 

there." Ah ! that hope I " I .mi ^«.in^ to see them 



348 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

over there, ' ' how cheering ! The only balm for that 
wounded and broken heart. 

" Tell me, my secret soul, 

O, tell me, hope and faith, 

Is there no resting place 

From sorrow, sin and death ? 

Is there no happy spot 

Where mortals may be blest 

Where grief may find a balm 

And weariness a rest? 
Faith, hope and love — best boons to mortals given — 
Waved their bright wings, and whispered : 
Yes, in heaven ! " 

A bright-eyed little girl, who had heard her 
teacher talk about heaven, on her return home 
with a look mingled with joy and deep concern, 
asked, u Papa, where is heaven?" " Up there," 
was the prompt response. Where heaven is, God 
has not definitely told us. But the Bible teaches 
that it is above us. Though God is everywhere 
present, his special dwelling place, we are told, is 
in heaven. For (Ps. ciii. 19) " The Lord hath pre- 
pared His throne in the heavens." And the Bible 
speaks of heaven as above us. In the song of 
Moses, (Deut. xxxiii. 40) we read, " For I lift up my 
hand unto heaven, and say, I live forever." After 
God had made his everlasting covenant with Abra- 



BBAVBN. 349 

ham and left off talking with him, we read < ,,:.. 
xvii. 22.) "And God WCMi up from Abraham." 
And Jacob went out from Bccrshcba toward Haran, 
and as night came on, made him a pillow of stone 
"and lay down in that place to sleep. And he 
dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, 
and the top of it readied to heaven, and behold the 
ending and descending on it. 

And behold the Lord si /.'," &C, 

xxviii. 12, 13. And Job (iii. 4), lamenting the day 
of his birth, exclaimed, " Let QotGod regard it/ram 

speaking of himself (John i: 
whence he came, &&, declared, " He that cometh 

al I. * * * He that cometh 
&om ; -/.v." And of his departure 

out of this world we read (Acts i. 10) ; "And while 

they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he 

men stood by him in white apparel, 

Which G llilee, why .stand ve 

This same Jesus which is 

taken up from you into heaven shall SO COme in like- 
have .seen him go into heaven." 

Up there "—it is above lis. 
Bttt jUSt wl ith ns as he did with 

Abraham in regard to the promised land, -He will 

show it tons when we get there. Ami in older to 



350 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

get there, it is of paramount importance that we 
have Abraham's faith and obedience, to follow 
promptly and cheerfully wherever God may lead 
us. 

Heaven a Place. 
A great many persons imagine that anything 
said about heaven is only a matter of speculation. 
They talk about heaven like the air. With their 
peculiar ideas of spiritual being, and of the abode 
of spirits, men have almost lost sight of the fact 
that heaven is a place. But Paul (Heb. xi. 16), 
speaking of the Christian's longing for heaven, 
says, "But now they desire a better country, that 
is, an heavenly : wherefore God is not ashamed to 
be called their God : For he hath prepared for them 
a city." Here the Apostle carries our minds away 
from this worldly, sinful, sorrowful country, to a 
better one ; from the cities of time, built at the 
hands of men, " to a city which hath foundations, 
whose builder and maker is God." Heb. xi. 10. 
Language like this bespeaks locality. John, when 
an exile on the isle of Patmos, was carried away of 
the Spirit into a great and high mountain, where 
God gave him a view of that great city. For his 
description of it see Rev. xxi. 10-27. ^ * s the 
most specific as well as the most graphic descrip- 



HEAVEN. 351 

tion of heaven which God has anywhere given us. 
And every candid reader will at once conceive that 
it is in every particular as much the description of 
a real place as that of Jerusalem, Babylon or Nine- 
veh, or any other of the great cities of the Bible. 
Moreover, it is also spoken of as God's "dwelling 
place "(i Kings viii. 30); as " a house not made 
with hands, eternal in the heavens." Jesus said 
(John xiv. 2), "In my Father's house are many 
mansions. If it were not so I would have told 
you. I go to prepare a. place for you." Surely this 
means something. It clearly and evidently indi- 
cates locality. For he immediately adds, "And 
if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come 
again and receive you unto myself, that where 
I am there ye may be also." Thank God for such a 
promise. 

But a matter of far more vital importance for 
consideration is 

The Occupants. 

Who will they be? John Newton once said : 
"When I get to heaven, I shall see three wonders 
there. The first wonder will be to see many peo- 
ple there whom I did not expect to see ; the second 
wonder will be to miss many people whom I did 



352 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

expect to see ; and the third, and perhaps the 
greatest wonder of all, will be to find myself there." 
We are scarcely saved ! 

" Sing, ye bright angelic choir , 

Praise the Lamb enthroned above ; 
Whilst astonished, I admire 

God's free grace and boundless love. 
That blest moment I received him 

Filled my soul with joy and peace ; 
Love I much ? I've much forgiven ; 

I'm a miracle of grace." 

But the Bible clearly defines who shall and who 
shall not enter heaven. The point of difference in 
the ideas of men and divine revelation is in the 
standard of measurement and of judgment. We 
are told (i Sam. xvi. 17), " For the Lord seeth not 
as man seeth ; for man looketh on the outward 
appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." 
But of two things we may feel positively certain : 
First, that the society of heaven will be a select 
one. None but those clad in the wedding gar- 
ment will be there. All will be clad alike there. 
There are a great many kinds of aristocracy in this 
world, but the aristocracy of heaven will be one of 
universal love and holiness. The humblest sinner 
on earth, cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ, 
will be an aristocrat in heaven. And, second, 



HBAVBN. 353 

that Cod will make no mistake in the selection or 
admission of the occupants to heaven. All who arc 
fonnd worthy will be admitted there. Who then 
Will be found worthy? This is the all-important 
question. And to this we answer : 

i. That all who die in their infancy will be ad- 
mitted there. In answer to the disciples' inquiry, 
"Who shall be the in the kingdom of 

heaven ?" JeMi- called a little child unto him, and 
set him in the midst of them, and said, " Verily 

I onto yon, except ye be converted, and be- 

come a> little children, ye .shall not enter into the 
kingdom of heaven. Whosoever, therefore, shall 
humble himself as this little child, the same is the 
>t in the kingdom of heaven." Here our 

little child the standard of worthi- 

into heaven. According to 

Mark x. 1.1, it is written, "Suffer little children to 

•;nt<» me, and forbid them not, for of suck is 
tin- kingdom ot heaven." ¥< uch is the 

kin^<: Dear reader, have yon been 

dear little on< } & 1 1 rasoled and 

comforted with the fact that they have only joined 

ompau) of angels where, it faithful unto the 

end, y< mitt< d to join them by and b\ . 

MI who have become new creatures in Christ 

23 



354 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

Jesus and remain steadfast in their faith even unto 
death will be admitted there. In the language of 
our Lord (John i. 12, 13), "But as many as re- 
ceived him, to them gave he power to become the 
sons of God, even to them that believe on his 
name ; which were born, not of blood, nor of the 
will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of 
God." Again, (John iii. 3, 5, 7), "Jesus answered 
and said unto him, " Verily, verily, I say unto thee, 
Except a man be born again, he can not see the 
kingdom of God. And because Nicodemus could 
not understand this, by way of explanation, "Jesus 
answered and said unto him, "Verily, verily, I say 
unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of 
the Spirit he can not enter into the kingdom of 
God." Marvel not that I said unto thee, " Ye must 
be born again.' 1 ' 1 And to assure the people of 
Galatia that neither the covenant relation of their 
fathers, nor anything in the ceremonial law, would 
avail anything, Paul declared (Gal. vi, 15), "For 
in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any 
thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature." 
Neither Christian parentage, nor a nominal pro- 
fession of faith, nor any other good thing short of 
a new creature in Christ Jesus, will secure an en- 
trance into the mansions above. And hence, when 



HKAVKN. 355 

John was permitted to take the wonderful view of 

en, one of the elders inquired of him, "Who 

arc these which arc arrayed in white robes? And 

whence came they?" John answered him, "Sir, 
thou knowest." And the elder said, "These are 
they which came out of great tribulation, ami have 
Washed their robes and made them white in the 
blood of the Lamb." Rev. vii. 13. \.\. 

01 these passagi S ipture, and the main- 

more which might be given, it will become quite 
clear to our readers who will be the occupants of 

heaven. And with this test yon will not wonder 

at our Lord's language 'Mat;, xxxi i.p, " For many 

are called, but few are chosen." The important 
don i-, //".--• u it with met //<>:,■ is // with 

A matter of no little importance also to the occu- 

of heaven will be 

lt\ Duration* 

aid 1 Ps. I ii. 87), " Hut thou art the 

shall have no end." Ami of 

Son it is written illeb. xiii. S) that He is "the 

, and to-day and forevt 

baa promised (John xiv. 3), " And 

fox \ on, I will come 



356 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

again, and receive you unto myself, that where I 
am there ye may be also." With Christ forever ! 
Ah, yes, He is "the same yesterday, to-day and 
for every " Thy years shall have no end." But 
ordinarily the mind, or even the keenest imagina- 
tion, does not comprehend the thought in the 
words "forever," "no end," etc. Suppose we try 
to aid our conceptions of these terms in the use of 
some figures. Suppose, for a moment, that the 
Bible used the words a trillion of years, to represent 
the life to come, instead of eternity or forever. A 
trillion according to American notation is a million 
multiplied by a million, the number expressed by 
a unit with twelve ciphers annexed. Suppose now 
that that was to be the measure instead of "years 
that have no end." How long do you think it 
would take to count a trillion ? Suppose you would 
count as fast as your pulse beats, day and night, 
without any rest to eat or sleep. Your pulse beats 
seventy times a minute, there are sixty minutes in 
an hour ; at that rate you would count 4,200 per 
hour, in twenty-four hours, or one day, you would 
count 100,800, in 365 days, or one year, you would 
have counted 36,792,000. Take this result and 
multiply it by 30,000, and you get your first tril- 
lion of years, or this number, 1,103,760,000,000. 



HEAVEN. 

It" then it takes thirty thousand years to even count 

out- trillion, what must it be to live through a tril- 
[f Adam had commenced 6,000 

'lint and continued till HOW, he 

would have been bnt one-fifth through — he would 

Deed to live five times as long to finish his count. 

if the duration of heaven ran on through the 

ented by this trillion of years, what a 

that would be for the redeemed in _ 

But the- glorious reality will be, Xi thy years shall 

When a trillion of years will have 

ternity " in heaven will have scarce 

begun. 

Our Happiness in Heaven. 

Happiness 1- universally desired and sought by 
in. m. There is no one object so universally sought 

as this. But alas ! how many mistake the proper 

II true happiness. The only source of 

true happiness in this life is iii a lite with Christ, 

and the only perfect happiness will he in heaven. 

lid, " 1 shall be satisfied when 

ike in thy liken I rod designed that we 

should l>e a happy people, and 1 vi t since t : 

: for our happiness in this life, and 
rfect happiness in that which is to come. 
Qui perf<a bappim m th- n 



358 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

i. In the absence of all the consequences of sin, 
" Flesh and blood can not inherit the kingdom of 
God" (1 Cor. xv. 50.) "For this corruptible must 
put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on 
immortality." There will be no "sorrow, nor 
crying, neither shall there be anymore pain." Oh, 
no! "For the former things are passed away." 
Rev. xxi. 4. Ah ! where is the home in all the 
earth that has escaped all these? Happy is that 
home, where, in their youthful vigor, love and as- 
piration have held supreme sway — where there is 
no sorrow, nor crying, nor any pain. Blissful 
home ! But in heaven there will not be even a 
sight or thought of these. For "God shall wipe 
away all tears from their eyes." Blessed comfort ! 
"And there shall be 110 more death there." Ah 
no ! Death is swallowed up in victory." 

A Christian lady, on her death bed, in reply to 
a remark of her brother, who was taking leave of 
her to return to his distant residence, that he 
should probably never again meet her in the land 
of the living, answered, "Brother, I trust we shall 
meet in the land of the living. We are now in the 
land of the dying.'''' Happy is that place from 
which every thought of death has been banished. 
But the blissful thought is in the fact that in the 



HEAVEN. 359 

res ur rection God will wipe away the last v 

ry remnant of sin. "And there shall in no 
iitcr into it anything that defileth, neither 

•ever worketh abomination or maketh a lie." 
Rev. 

2. Onr spiritual purity will contribute much to 

our happiness in heaven. Here in this 1: 

sin, we think ourselves happy when, for a time, 

in the company of saints, where all is peace 

and harmony, where not a harsh word is heard, 

but all are words of love and cheer ; where the 
spiritual atmosphere is exhilarating and inspiring ; 
and where the joys of salvation are beaming from 
every countenance. But these gatherings are in- 
frequent and of short duration. When the three 
les were with Jesus on the Mount ol Trans- 
figuration his glorified appearance prodvced such an 
feeling that Peter proposed i I .net there 
three me;:. that glorioUS even But of 

the just made perfect it is written d John iii. 2), 

doth not yet appeal what we 
shall be ; but we know that wlun be (Christ) shall 

r we shall be like him for we sh 

him as be i ." Ah I u be like him" — like oui 

Enjoy all the perfections of his 

puntN ? And DC blS divine 



360 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

nature? Ah yes, our souls, bright with God's 
brightness, pure with God's purity, and warm with 
the glow of his perfect love, and clothed with his 
glory, we "shall be like him and see him as he 
is." Supremely happy will be that state ! And 
hence we will have 

3. A perfect ability to enjoy heaven. — "We shall 
be like him." " For now we see through a glass 
darkly ; but then face to face : Now I know in part ; 
but then I shall know even as also am I known." 
1 Cor. xiii. 12. 

But our capacities to enjoy will differ : Like 
sundry vessels, whereof some are larger and some 
are smaller, if cast into the sea, some will receive 
more, some less, and yet all will be full, and there 
will be no want in any ; so among the saints of 
God in heaven — some have more of glory, and 
some less, and yet all, without exception, will be 
full of the glory of God. God's spiritual temple 
contains vessels of various dimensions ; but all are 
filled with the same spirit from the communicable 
fullness of Christ ; as the prophet describes it, "ves- 
sels of small quantity, from the vessels of cups even 
to all vessels of flagons." Isa. xxii. 24. " But 
filled with all the fullness of God" will be all 
that the saints, both small and great, can desire. 



Hl.AYh.V 36] 

We shall all be full, that will be enough. But 
whether great or small, everyone's capacity to 
enjoy will be perfected We shall sec and know 

tly ; the sense of sight, to see the fullness 

ry ; the sense of hearing, to hear perfectly 
the enchanting melodies of the heavenly choir ; 
and the emotions, to drink from the rivers "I 
•.re. 
.\. < >::r associations in heaven will aid in per- 
fecting our happiness. In this Hie we gather in 

the choicest assemblies and we count ourselves 

happy. Some are rich, and some are poor ; some 
are clad in silk, and glitter with ornaments oi 
and diamonds, and some are in the more ordinary 
attire ; some are intelligent, while others are illit- 
erate ; some are appreciative and inspiring in their 

manners ami address, while Others are inappiccia- 

tive and repelling in tlu-ir very appearance ; some- 
are kind and gentle, Others are unkind and gruff. 
Hut in heaven it will not be mi. We will all \\<ai 
the Same robes of pure white ; WC will all wear the 

same crowns, decked with the same jewels ; we will 

all be moved by the same spirit of love ; we will 

full of the glory of God ; oui ' 1 will 

l>e the choice from all the lands of earth. On the 
PatmO . John " beheld, and lo, a great mill- 



362 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

titude which no man could number, of all nations 
and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood be- 
fore the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with 
white robes and palms in their hands, and cried 
with a loud voice, Salvation to our God which sit- 
teth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb." Rev. 
vii. 10. O, what a gathering that will be ! With 
God and the Lamb upon the throne, the innumer- 
able multitude of the redeemed, led by angels, 
archangels, seraphim and cherubim in their "new 
song" — there will be joy indeed. 

5. There will be joy in the recognition of friends 
and loved ones. 

" When we hear the music ringing 

In the bright celestial dome — 
When sweet angels' voices singing, 

Gladly bid us welcome home 
To the land of ancient story, 

Where the spirit knows no care, 
In that land of life and glory — 

Shall we know each other there ? " 

Yes, indeed ; it did not require an introduction 
of the disciples to Abraham, and Moses, and Elias, 
on the mount of transfiguration. Oh no ! The joy 
of that meeting was as indescribable as that in the 
meeting of old and tried friends. Lazarus did not 



HF.AVKX. 

need an introduction to Abraham, into whose 
arried. Heavenly recognition, we 
are glad to Bay, is put upon a different basis from 
that in this life. Here our want of confidence in 
each other obscures our knowledge, and remem- 
brance and appreciation of each other. Bnt there 
OUT 'faith in God and our transfiguration to His 
glorious image will have perfected both our con- 
fidence in and our knowledge of each other, and 
shall know even as also we air known." 

Heaven is presented tons under different figures. 

5 them is that of xi n great supper " "the 

Much of the enjoyment 

therefore must come from our knowledge of each 

other a- guests. Imagine yourself at a feast where, 
though you may have known many who surround 
the table, you are, by some obliviousness of mind, 

at of them all. The Incertitude in which 
you an robs you of much of your joy — fox 

\ on are alone. But BUppOM that the mist rolls 
, and that you recognize in the eounteiiauees 

before you the old familiar faces of loved friends, 

;\ of 
which you Oth< I did have been de] I 

heaven. Sitting down with 
ham. | facob, with 



364 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

the kingdom of heaven, we will intuitively recog- 
nize as our companions those who were the excel- 
lent of the earth — "our friends tried and true" — 
and be reunited with those who divided our cares 
and doubled our joys in this world of mingled sor- 
rows and delights. In view of the fact that we are 
social beings in our very constitution, God has, in 
his goodness made provision for the perfection of 
this, as well as the other faculties and powers of 
our being, in heaven ; and we shall know and 
enjoy each other there. Families will gather there, 
with loved ones separated by the roll of many long 
years, to renew their friendship in the perfect love 
of God — unite in perfect love forever. 

" Where the bond is never severed, 

Partings, claspings, sobs and moans, 
Midnight waking, twilight weeping, 

Heavy noontide, all are done. 
Where the child has found its mother 
Where the mother finds her child ; 
Where dear families are gathered 
That were scattered on the wild. 
* * * * 

Where we find the joy of loving 

As we never loved before, 
Loving on unchilled, unhindered, 

Loving once, and never more." 



II I. AY F.N. 365 

But the climax of uiir joys will be reached 
6. In the infinite riches and splendor of heaven. 
The enjoyment of both riches and splendor depends 
upon certain preparations for that special pi:: 
In this world the- cup of pleasure and satisfaction 
may be brimming and yet never full, because it is 
never without a leakage. Wealth may have ac- 
cumulated around us as about Solomon, and yet 
with tl aeons cry of Solomon's words, "all 

is vanity.' 1 Hut in the resurrection this imperfec- 
tion — this consequent of death — will be wholly 
wed up in victory. The disciples on the 
mount of transfiguration were in the p re se nce of a 

glory which they COUld not then behold, but fell 

on their faces, Haul, on his way t<> Damascus, 
onfronted with the glory of God and stricken 

blind with it. When afterwards he was caught up 

into the third heaven he " heard Unspeakable 

, which it was not possible for man to utter. " 

John on Patmos saw what was too sublime to re- 
veal to man. Why all this? Because, "having 
our understanding darkened,' 1 u we now look 

rkly." Bui in the mornii 
the resurrection, .1- we awake in Christ's likeness, 
our eves with every powei of soul will open t<> the 
and full ^\i>r\ <.i ( ',..(1. 



366 AROUND THE HOME TABLE. 

We talk of riches when we have a title to some 
land, with palaces and barns, herds of cattle, bins 
full of grain, and gold in our coffers. We eat and 
drink, and view and enjoy them in a measure for a 
few short years, and then die. But see, there is a 
home whose realms are boundless in circumference 
and eternal in its roll of years. It is decked all 
over with mansions of divine architecture, finish 
and furniture — with conveniences contrived by the 
divine mind — in the midst of the holy city, with 
its majestic walls of jasper, whose foundations are 
garnished with all manner of precious stones, with 
twelve gates of pearl and the streets of pure gold, 
and in the midst of it the temple and throne of 
God. From beneath it flows a river with waters 
clear as crystal, and by its side was the tree of life. 
" And there was no night there. Oh no, there is 
no need of night for sleep there. Blissful, eternal 
day ! And the city had no need of the sun, 
neither of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of 
God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light 
thereof. Nay, and all its inhabitants do "shine 
as the sun in the kingdom of their Father," — all 
do shine with the effulgent glory of God. And 
these, with the fullness of Christ and his glory in 
us, will be riches and splendor and happiness 



HBAVBN. 367 

enough iur me ! With real wonder, and joy un- 
speakable, we can truly sing: 

Who .ire these in bright array, 

This innumerable throng. 
Round the altar nJgfat and .lay, 

Tuning their triumphant song ? 
Worthy is the Lamb, once slain. 
Ug, honor, glory, ; 
t.> obtain 
dominion ev'ry hour. 

" These through fiery trials tro<l, 

These from great affliction! came ; 

IR the throne of God, 
uM with Hit eternal Name, 
Qad in raiment pure ami white, 

Victor pallia in every hand, 
Through their great Redeemer*! might, 
More than COntJIMrOfl they stand. 

'• Hunger, thirst, disease unknown, 

<>n immortal fruits they feed ■ 

Th.in the Lamb amidst the throne 

Shall tb living fountains lead. 

and gladness banish sighs ; 

An<i forevei from theii 

■•■ay theil !• 

Thank God fox the hope of heaven, with all 
its untold riches and gloi 



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